With Each Year
by katsparkle13
Summary: Every Career had to start somewhere, right? They couldn't have always been coldblooded killers. This is the story of a boy from District 1. A boy who was once was filled with innocence. Each chapter finds him another year older, and another year colder. But this is also the story of the people who slowly caused what love he had to fade.
1. Fate Sealed

**Today is Victor's Birthday…**

Cornelius Flint Sybil held up his tiny baby. He was so small, but Cornelius knew he would grow to be strong someday. This was evidenced when the baby grasped onto Cornelius's hand. Hard. Cornelius let out a shout, then threw his head back and laughed. Oh yes, this would make a fine boy. He handed the baby back over to his wife. She stroked the little pink face that stuck out of the blue blanket. It had taken the two of them a long time to find a name for this baby. Names in District 1 were very important. Crystal, always concerned with what others were doing, wanted the boy to be named after some type of gem, like Jett or even Mercury. But Cornelius had wanted the baby to have a fine Roman name like his, so he could sound like he was from the Capital. They had bickered good naturedly about this for months, before deciding on the perfect name. Victor. It was far different from the names of all the other boys. Tougher. With more edge to it. And Victor's father prided himself in this. After all, he was a victor. He had won the 30th Games, no small feat. He had brought pride to his family and now this boy would do the same. He was going to be a Career. You see, the inner workings of the districts closer to the Capital (in more ways than just distance) may seem complicated to those in the outer districts but were quite clear to those living in them. Since Victor's own father had won the Games, it would be shameful not to pass on the legacy. If Victor was never sent to train, people would assume Cornelius's son was weak. They would think the boy's father was a cowardly fool. Of which Cornelius was nothing of the sort. No, pride was radiant in the Sybil family.

And so, before Victor Mercury Cornelius Sybil even opened his eyes, his fate had been sealed.


	2. Pride

**Today is Victor's Birthday…..**

Crystal is throwing an enormous party for him. In other words, another display of the family's pride. And Victor is the perfect baby boy. All the guests comment on his golden hair and shining blue eyes. He has a sparkling smile that has everyone cooing. Crystal is pleased because she knows that Victor will grow to be very handsome one day. Of course, this will make things much easier for them. He will gain sponsors. But for now, he is simply an adorable baby. His cousin Ruby scoops him up and begins a hand game with him. Ruby is five years old now, and Victor's only cousin. She is Crystal's brother's daughter and since she is an only child, she will be going to the Training Center in three short years. Another large party will be thrown for her then. But for now, Ruby and Victor can laugh and giggle all they want. When the short game is finished, Victor begins to cry. "More!" He squeals. "More!" That and "no" are the only words he can say. But that's fine with his parents. Victor learned to walk when he was just seven months old, and even then he hardly walked, but ran. His father delighted in pretending to try to catch his boy. To Victor, it was a simple game. But to his father, it was much more. He was teaching Victor to run and avoid his pursuers, namely mutations, which had almost cost Cornelius's life in the arena. Even the simple game that Ruby has picked up from the Preparation Academy deals with the Games. It teaches the children how to use hand-eye coordination to hit their partner's hands with their own and make contact. Later, they will be making contact with deadly weapons. Ruby and Victor begin another round. Victor is confused; he is only a year old after all. But it makes him smile.

Suddenly, Ruby leaves the elegant couch she is sitting on and goes to the center of the enormous room. "Look what I can do!" She shouts happily. And she launches herself into a little dance routine. She instantly has everyone's attention. For a five year old, she is surprisingly graceful, even throwing herself into backbends that most children couldn't do. Dancing is another skill taught at the Preparation Academy, for girls anyway. The boys learn to wrestle. Dancing teaches the children to be light on their feet. And besides, victors need a talent to show off to the nation on live television shortly before their victory tour. As soon as Ruby curtsies, she is greeted by applause. Even Victor, laughing in his mother's arms, joins in. Because Ruby is his family and his friend. Even though he is just a baby, he knows what love is. Of course, little by little as the years in the Training Center pass, that love will slowly begin to fade. Because it could make him weak. His own father knows better than anyone that he can't carry that love in him if he wants to survive.


	3. Unanswered

**Today is Victor's Birthday…..**

Though only two years old now, Victor is smart. His eyes are bright and he is perpetually curious. His favorite phrase is "what's that?" Cornelius answers his son's questions with enthusiasm. Intelligence is important in the arena, and though people would never admit it, it is rather rare in District 1. Crystal, however, is less impressed. "The boy will be an outcast, Cornelius! He won't have friends and no one will be his Training Partner. No, intelligence never made a good Career!" Cornelius shakes his head slowly. "No, my dear, that is not true." He pauses to take a breath. "Everyone knows that a killer, at least a very effective one, is smart. Killing, and escaping a killer, does require a certain amount of calculation." Crystal is silent. Her husband is right and she knows that. She doesn't usually contribute in issues pertaining to the arena, mainly because she carries a small amount of resentment inside her. Crystal had gone to the Training Academy when she was eight, along with every other child in the district. Only half of those children were allowed to continue after a year, and Crystal and Cornelius were lucky enough to be included. But every year, "eliminations" take place again, so that the by the time the children were around the age of eighteen, only a handful remained to be eligible to volunteer as a tribute. Crystal was eliminated when she was fourteen. She has ashamed her family. But Victor can redeem them. Crystal is sure of that.

Cornelius takes Victor outside. The warm sun greets them and Victor squeals with joy. He points to the sun. "What's that?" Cornelius smiles. He hardly ever does that. It's no wonder, considering all the horrors that he has seen. But seeing his son laugh has a strange effect on him. When Victor is in his arms, he can remember that he too was once a small, innocent child. There was once a time when blood wasn't on his hands. "That's the sun, my boy." He whispers. He moves to sit on one of the ornate chairs that sit on the porch. Victor leans against him, and falls asleep with his thumb in his mouth. His father strokes his son's sun-kissed hair and watches the sun slip below the horizon. Colors reach out, bright oranges, lavenders and reds. And in that moment, he feels happy. Really, truly happy. Victor stirs in his lap, and Cornelius decides that it's time to go inside and put his son to bed. So he puts his son's tired head on his shoulder and opens the large wooden door back inside. The television lights up the room once father and son get inside, but Cornelius pays no attention. His father Victor's grandfather, is likely watching. The family lives together, mainly so Grandfather Flint can oversee the vineyard just outside that has been in the family for generations. Victor startles Cornelius by suddenly asking yet again "what's that?" He turns to see what his son is pointing to on the television screen. It's the Hunger Games. The 50th, to be exact. And it's what Cornelius was trying to avoid by taking his son outside. His father turns on the couch, waiting for Cornelius's answer. But he has none. Because how can he explain killing to a two year old boy?


	4. First

**Today is Victor's Birthday….**

He is three years old today. It's a year of another party. He stands as straight as he possibly can while his mother tugs and fusses at his suit. Victor has had enough. The collar is ruffled and tickles his chin. The jacket is itchy. It's his birthday. He's supposed to be having _fun. _And this is definitely not fun. He wants to run around outside. He wants to feel the warm sun on his back. He wants to play and get dirty! He may be just three today, but he knows what he wants. So he scrunches up his face and lets out a wail. He continues to wail as his mother sits back, surprised. "Why Victor! Don't cry! You're a big boy and besides, this is hardly like you. You never cry!" But he is beyond reasoning. He just wants to take it _off. _"Mommy, take it off!" He cries over and over again. Crystal purses her lips. She tells him that she can't take it off. He has to wear it. He's got to suck it up and act like a man. And for God's sake, stop crying! But he won't. He can't. Doesn't want to. He throws himself on the floor, forcing himself to stop hearing his mother's shouts and reprimanding words. And then he hears it. A ripping sound in his shoulder. The shirt with the horrid ruffled collar now has an open whole in the right shoulder. He sees shock register on his mother's face, and for some reason, the surprise of ripping the shirt causes him to let out another wail. His mother raises her hand, and suddenly, slaps him straight across his face. Victor falls backward. He doesn't cry anymore. He's too surprised. His mommy just _hurt him. _And it did hurt. He curls up and sniffles. That was _mean. _Mommy was _mean. _Now she yanks him up by his arm, takes out a tissue, and wipes his face so that there are no more tracks of tears. But it's not a moving gesture. Just a practical one. She doesn't want to see his face smudged and dirty.

Now the family stands at the door, greeting guests. Victor's hand is in his father's. A clean shirt with no rips in it is under the itchy jacket. But Victor knows better than to cry now. His mother greets a friend and her family, planting air kisses on all of their cheeks. She wears a bright smile on her face, as if nothing was wrong. After the last guest, Great Aunt Opal, walks through the door, Victor's family walks to the open living room. His mother is whirling around the room, making sure the appetizers being served on silver plates by the waiters are just right. Her coral colored dress is like a burst of color and Victor can't help but smile at it and be in awe. He has already forgotten the incident in the morning. It's hard for a toddler to hold a grudge. He sits next to his daddy, until he grabs Victor onto his lap. Victor giggles and rubs his daddy's beard. "You have something fuzzy on your face." He says matter-of-factly. His daddy lets out an enormous laugh. Victor doesn't know what's so funny, but he loves to see his daddy happy. But soon, another little boy has everyone's attention. Its Victor's cousin, Emory. Emory is just one year old, and now he's making his way across the room on his unsteady legs, much to the delight of every guest at the party. The room is filled with coos and sounds of awe.

"Look at how fast he's going!"

"He's so adorable."

"Oh, he is going to be such a fast, strong boy."

Victor sulks. This is his party, not Emory's. He is the one who should be getting this attention. Then, he feels the couch move next to him. Ruby is sitting next to him. At seven years old, she is older than Victor, and he believes that she knows all there is to know. She is also unimpressed by Emory's show. She turns to Victor. "Since he's my brother, I've seen him do that a lot." She huffs. "I don't see what's so special about walking. See I can walk across the room right now!" She gets up and does an exaggerated impression of her brother's toddling walk. Victor giggles and soon is joining her, falling over on his face and making "baby noises" until he and Ruby are both collapsing with laughter. And besides, Victor has everyone's attention again.


	5. Sword

**Today is Victor's Birthday….**

An enormous pile of presents sits before him. It's so huge! He feels like royalty. All hail King Victor! He rubs his hands excitedly. It's all his! He grabs one with green shiny wrapping. It's a white shirt, with a ruffled collar. He holds it away from his face. That's not a very good present! Then he remembers the ripped shirt sitting in the back of his clothing drawer. Mommy bends down next to him. "Do you like it, Vic?" Victor sees his mommy's big belly. She's having a baby soon and Victor's going to be a big brother! It's going to be a girl, but that's okay. He's just excited to be a big boy now. But this present doesn't really look like something a big boy would wear. He frowns. Victor knows he shouldn't lie. That would be mean, right? "I don't like it mommy." He says truthfully. Everyone in the room begins to laugh. What's so funny? He told the truth, that's all. His mommy's face turns a shade of red as she grabs the shirt from him. Well good. He didn't want that anyway. "That is not what you should do." She whispers through clenched teeth. Uh oh. Mommy's mad. Victor does not like it when his mommy gets mad. But now his daddy's hand is on her shoulder. "Crystal, it's all right. There are plenty of other presents." He's right. Soon, Victor is attacking the pile again. A toy train. A teddy bear. An army of toy soldiers. Victor sits back, smiling. The teddy bear is for babies, but he'll play with the soldiers. Now there is just one package left. It's bigger than the rest. He rips it open. A sword! It's a wooden sword, painted shiny, metallic silver. He lifts it up, grinning. It's a sort of tradition that District 1 boys who are going to be Careers to receive a wooden sword on around the time of their fourth birthday. But Victor doesn't know this. All he knows is that he's been wanting one for a long time. He squeals excitedly and begins waving it around.

"Look Daddy, I'm strong!" He shouts, hoisting the sword above his head. All the adults laugh. What did he say? But he's having too much fun to care. Suddenly, he feels the sword being tugged out of his arms. "I wanna a turn!" Little Emory has yanked it out of his grip. Oh, that is just too far! Victor yanks the sword back, and pushes Emory back for good measure. "Mine!" Victor shouts. Aunt Ivory, Emory's mommy, grabs her baby and begins to scold Victor. How could he! He's just a baby! But Victor sulks. It was his! Crystal moves to Victor, shaking her head angrily. She turns to Victor's daddy. "Well, aren't you going to do something?" She demands. But he just leans back on the couch. "He's a fighter who knows what's his. He's going to be tough." Victor beams at his daddy's pride. _He's going to be tough. _His mother, however, is less impressed. She and Aunt Ivory give Cornelius a look as if to say "I can't believe you." Upon seeing this, Cornelius simply gives them a very sad smile.

"The boy has the right instinct. You've got to keep what's yours from the weaker ones in that arena. And if the weaker ones get too close, you've simply got to get rid of them."

The room is silent. Even Great Aunt Opal, who is always talking, has nothing to say. Victor sits back, confused. What's daddy talking about? What's an arena? But he doesn't want to just sit here and think. It's his birthday! He jumps up, sword in hand. "I'm going outside to play!" He shouts. Uncle Mercury nods. "Yes, why don't you and Ruby go outside?" Ruby grabs his hand and they both run out into the sun. Oh, it's so warn outside! Victor takes his sword and begins to swing at a tree. Ruby giggles. He begins to giggle too. It's hard to swing a sword while giggling! So that just makes him laugh more. Ruby puts her arm around him, shaking with laughter. "You just looked so silly, swing it like that." Ruby tells him. Suddenly, he turns to her. He's got a question. "What's an arena?" He asks. Ruby sits on the porch steps. "You learn about it at the Training Center." She says.

"What's that?"

"It's the place I go to now. You'll get there when you turn eight. You train there, for the arena. Because the arena's where you fight. Not just with wooden swords, but real ones." She says wisely.

"Oh, so I am going to fight with swords in the arena." Ruby nods. "That sounds fun!" Ruby grins. She tells him that it is. Victor can't wait. Someday, he's going to get a real live sword!


	6. Pretend

**Today is Victor's Birthday…..**

He's five years old now, and a big brother. He wasn't sure that he would like living with someone else, but he does. She's so much fun! Except when she cries, but still. She has the most perfect, tiny fingernails and the most perfect, delicate eyelashes. He loves to count her fingers and toes. He's gotten good at counting now and its fun to see that even though Victor is bigger, they have the same number of everything. Her name is Amandine. He loves that name. It's so much fun to say and sort of rolls off his tongue. He doesn't know it, but his mommy named her based on the latest fad. Cooking names. Amandine is some sort of fancy style and Crystal thought it sounded particularly luxurious. Crystal thinks following the trends is very important. Cornelius still wanted a Roman name, but ever since his Games, he has become a very unassertive person, usually waiting for the commands of others. Besides, Crystal promises that they'll have another child, a girl. Maybe then he'll get his name. Suddenly, Victor hears banging on the door. "They're here!" He shouts. While his parents rush to the door, Amandine in mommy's arms, Victor fixes his shirt. He has a small bruise from last night. He knocked off one of mommy's best vases, and daddy had to hit him because he was bad. He doesn't like the way it looks though, so he wants it covered. The first guests walk in, Grandma and Grandpa. Victor runs to them and gives them a hug. "Oh, here's the boy! And isn't he a strong one!" Grandpa exclaims. Victor stands up straighter. Why yes, he is strong. Grandma ruffles his hair. "He will make a good Career, Cornelius." By now, Victor knows that a Career is someone who fights in the arena with swords and stuff, and then gets lots of money after. That's what he wants to be.

The next people are walking through the door. It's Aunt Jade and Uncle Flavius. Aunt Jade smiles at him. "I swear his eyes get bluer each year. He's going to be very handsome." She winks at Victor's mommy, who agrees. Victor stands up even straighter. Right behind those too is Victor's cousins and their parents. Victor waves to Ruby, who enthusiastically waves back. She's holding Emory's hand and looking very angry with this job assignment. After the last guest arrives, Great Aunt Opal, just like every year, the adults all sit down to talk, mostly about Victor, since it is his birthday. "So Cornelius, how is the boy with that sword you gave him last year?" Uncle Mercury asks.

"Oh, he goes outside with it every day. He plays "arena."

Cornelius laughs at the memory of his boy, outside swinging that sword and shouting "and that's the end! All the evil people are dead and Victor Mercury Cornelius Sybil is the winner!"

"So how is the baby?" Aunt Jade questions. The adults all know that Jade wants a baby of her own someday.

"Yes, he's wonderful with her." Victor's mommy says. "You know, we're thinking of having a third child, you know, so one can stay with me?" All the adults nod. They know that a family with two children has to send both of them to Training. That way, if one child dies in the arena, another one can go and bring glory to their family. But if a family has three kids, one gets to stay home with the parents and become, as most put it, soft. However, Amandine isn't necessarily the one going to train. If the next baby has a tougher personality, she'll be the one to go and Amandine will stay home and get dresses in frilly dresses and things Crystal wants. But Victor doesn't know this. All he knows is that sitting inside is boring. He wiggles impatiently, waiting for present time. The gift pile is just so big! He wants one right now. But he has to sit here and wait. Suddenly, Grandpa turns to Ruby. "So how's Training going, sweetpea?" Ruby frowns.

"Don't call me that. I'm not a baby anymore." Victor is confused. He's never seen his cousin angry. But now Ruby's smiling. "We got to work with real weapons. And I got through the first elimination a few weeks ago." Everyone claps. Victor doesn't know what that is, but he claps too. Ruby continues. "We had to pick one that we like best, just for this week, to see if we're any good. I picked spears." Grandpa laughs. Ruby frowns again, then stands up with her arms crossed. "What's so funny?" Victor wants to know too.

"Well, how does a little girl like you throw a big spear?" He questions. Ruby stomps her foot.

"I am not a little girl!" Her voice rings throughout the room. Victor feels like he's on Ruby's side. She's not a little girl! But Ruby's mommy is mad at Ruby for yelling at Grandpa. Her daddy doesn't seem that mad though. Ruby's tone softens. "Besides, they have me using really light ones, so I can pick them up. It's fun when you hit the target." All the adults nod approvingly. Victor can't wait until he gets to train! He wants to hit a target too! And, most of all, he wants to see mommy and daddy happy for him.


	7. Strong

**Today is Victor's Birthday….**

He is six years old today. Like many six year olds, he knows how to write, read, tie his shoes, and even add numbers. But he doesn't know some things that most kids his age do. He never learned about feelings. No one in his school ever sat down with him, with pictures of faces, saying "this is sad and this is happy." Victor picked it up mostly by himself though. He knows what makes him feel good and what makes him feel bad. But at the Preparation Academy he attends, or the other schools in his district, there just isn't much emphasis in learning about feelings. He doesn't know any songs or nursery rhymes. If someone tried to explain to him what music was, he would be very confused. However, Victor does know some things that most children his age don't know. He knows where it hurts the most when someone is hit by a dodge ball. They play it every day at break. He's really good it at. And he knows lots of things about the weather. This is to prepare him for the arena. All the children in his class know that in a cold arena you have to make a fire, and if it's hot you need to drink lots of water. If there are trees, people could be hiding in them, so look up as well a right in front of you.

Victor thinks of school now as he pulls on his suit. It's a new one, with a clip-on tie. He feels so grown-up as he puts it on. Daddy and the other men wear ties. He must be a man now! In school, they are learning how to wrestle. He can't wait to tell Grandpa all about it. He puts on his shoes, making sure that they're on the right feet. Now that he's six years old, he's dressing himself and he doesn't want to get anything mixed up. "Victor!" He hears his name ringing from downstairs. If he doesn't hurry down, mommy will be mad. Then she might hit him, and in front of the guests too. Victor doesn't want that! His cheek is still hurting from the last time she hit him, two days ago. As he walks down the grand staircase, he vaguely hopes that there won't be a red mark. He doesn't want Ruby to see that. Ruby. She is always so nice to him! He thinks he might be in love with her. No matter that she is more than four years older than him, or his cousin. He's six. These kinds of things aren't important. So he straightens his tie and walks downstairs, waiting in anticipation for Ruby to arrive. They can run around outside and have fun! Only, he can't get his suit dirty. Mommy or Daddy might get mad and hit him. Do Uncle Mercury and Aunt Ivory hit? But he doesn't have much time to think about this, because Aunt Jade and Uncle Flavius are walking in the door. Victor's mommy runs up to greet them, Amandine toddling behind her. Within just seconds, Grandma and Grandpa, with Great Aunt Opal, are here as well.

There is a chorus of hellos, hair ruffling, and remarks about how handsome Victor is getting, and how big Amandine is becoming. Though Victor doesn't know it, his mommy is secretly upset because no one said that Amandine was pretty, like her mother had been, or even "cute." Because Amandine isn't pretty, at least not in Crystal's opinion. She has tan skin, thin brown hair, and plain brown eyes. In District 1, that's unusual, and considered the look of "a poor outer district child." Here, pale skin, blond hair, and wide blue eyes are what are considered beautiful, or at least normal. But Amandine has her father's looks. And Crystal isn't happy about that at all. But she laughs, and thanks everyone for their compliments. Then a knock is heard from the huge brass knocker on the door. "Ruby's here!" Victor squeals. As he runs to open the door, Victor's father turns to his family and shakes his head. "Sometimes I just don't know what's gotten into the boy!" Cornelius exclaims. "Why isn't he as excited for his other cousin's arrival, who is a boy and closer to his age than Ruby." The others shrug. But Victor knows that it's because Ruby plays with him more. And besides, it isn't as fun playing with someone younger. They're a baby, and by playing with them, it would mean that Victor is a baby too! Which he most certainly isn't!

Victor swings the door open. Ruby and her family are walking up, and he sees that Emory has received his own sword. Well, now they can play swords together. Even if Emory is a baby, Ruby can't play swords because she's a girl. Emory swings his sword and shouts to Victor "I'm a man now!" All the adults laugh. Victor smiles too. He knows that Emory clearly isn't, but he's a good host. So he, Ruby, and Emory all go outside. They can see the grapevines extending into the distance, Victor's daddy's vineyard. "Come on, Emory, let's play!" Victor shouts. Ruby stands up on the porch. "I want to play, too. You can't just leave me sitting here!" She frowns, arms crossed. Now, Victor likes Ruby very much, but he _knows_ that swords are for boys. He tries to reason with Ruby. "You can't play swords. That's for boys." Ruby puts her hands on her hips, indignant. "Nuh-uh! There's a girl in my group at the Training Center who uses swords and she's really good!" Victor finds this hard to believe, but Ruby's sitting back down, so he guesses she just wants to watch anyway. She crosses her arms again. "Well, fine. I never wanted to play with a bunch of babies anyway."

Victor stops his sword-swinging. Babies! Fine, Emory is a baby, but him? That's just unfair! Why would Ruby say something like that? He feels like crying. But Emory, not seeing the tears budding at the corner of his eye, swings his sword right onto Victor's shoulder. Victor begins to really sob now. But Ruby doesn't even notice. She just stares at him, glaring. "Crying is a sign of weakness, Victor." She says in a flat voice. And just then, as if to make things even worse, Emory cries out "Yeah! Victor's weak! I'm strong!" And he hits Victor again with his sword. So just like that, Victor decides that he doesn't like his cousin Emory. And he decides another thing too. He is never going to cry again.


	8. Truth

**Today is Victor's Birthday…**

He sits on his bed, frowning. He wants to throw something across his room, but that might be considered throwing a tantrum, and that would be for children much younger than him. He thinks of all the presents he'll be missing. What sort of cool toys is he missing out on? He hasn't seen his cousin Ruby since last year, when she called him a baby. Victor really wants to make up with her. But he can't. Ruby has to spend all her time at the Training Center, and his birthday party was the only time the trainers let her leave. And now he isn't going to have a birthday party. Great-Aunt Opal died three days ago and tomorrow is her funeral. But that's not the only reason, Victor's mommy tells him. She says he was bad. In fact, she had to hit him almost every day the past week. So it's victor's fault, really. He throws himself onto a pillow. Oh, if only he could cry! A big loud spectacle, screeching and screaming while throwing things and maybe even kicking the floor. However, Victor tells himself he can't. Crying is a sign of weakness, right? Victor wants to show his mommy and daddy that hitting him won't make him weak. He's strong! Why, his wrestling instructor even said so last class. A thought crosses Victor's mind. In just one year from now, he will be old enough to train. He'll get to be with Ruby! And, most importantly of all, he will get to hold a real sword. He still plays with his wooden one, just not as much as he used to. He's growing older, and when kids grow older, they want things to be bigger and better. Another sort of happy thought crosses his mind now. He won't have to play with Emory now. Victor lies back on his bed, happier than before. Suddenly, he hears the television from downstairs. The family, meaning his aunts and uncles and grandparents are over, so they can talk about Opal. But Aunt Jade and Uncle Flavius hired a babysitter for Emory, thinking he was "too young" for this. But Victor isn't! Besides, he's bored and there might be something interesting on.

Victor makes his way into the Entertainment Room, where everyone is clustered around the screen. "The 55th Annual Hunger Games" is what the screen reds. Then, it fades into some kind of grassy flatland, where big, strong looking kids are clustered around a fire. Victor sits down cross-legged in front of his father. The screen shows another big, strong boy attacking the kids at the fire. One boy, with a sword, stabs him and kills the ambushing boy. Victor feels a sense of pride for the swordsmen. He turns to his father. "Was that boy that died a bad guy? Or was it the guy with the sword who was the bad guy?" He pauses for a minute. "I bet the guy with the sword was the good guy!" Then he stops again, thinking. In the movies he's seen, usually the bad guys look scar. He turns to his father. "Was that boy that died a bad guy? Or was it the guy with the sword who was the bad guy?" He pauses for a minute. "I bet the guy with the sword was the good guy!" Then he stops again, thinking. In the movies he's seen, usually the bad guys look scary. These kids look mostly the same. "Hey daddy, how do you tell the bad guys apart from the good guys?" His daddy puts his head in his hands, looking very sad. Uh-oh. Victor didn't mean to make him sad! His mother turns to him quickly. "Yes, Victor, the boy with the sword is the good guy. He's from District 1, just like you, and he's bringing us honor. The way you can tell the good and the bad guys apart is that everyone except for you is bad." Victor nods like he understands. Except now he has another question. "But if everyone was bad, except for the District 1 boy, why was he sitting with other kids around a fire instead of killing them?" Daddy raises his head, looking really sad, but still about Victor's question, but mommy puts her hand on his lap to tell him to stop. "He's going to kill them soon." She tells him. Aunt Jade suddenly sits up, one hand on her large stomach because she's going to have a baby soon.

"You know, Aunt Opal was alive for the very first Games. She was 18, and she told me that she was so terrified." Victor frowns.

"How come she was scared? You get to kill bad guys in the Games, so that's fun. And you get honor!" Aunt Jade and his mommy look at each other. Mommy is having a baby soon too. Victor knows she wants a girl, but he's secretly hoping for a boy. He already has a sister. Amandine is all right, but it's not the same. But he tells himself to pay attention because Aunt Jade is going to answer his question.

"Well, sweetie, they didn't have a place for Opal to train back then. She wasn't prepared." Victor nods. Okay, that makes sense. He puts his face in his fists and watches some more. Slowly, one by one people begin to leave the room. Eventually, only Victor and his daddy are left watching. He watches as the swordsmen from his one district sneaks off into the forest. Oh, he's gonna kill some more bad guys! Victor sits excitedly. He can't wait for what's coming. There will be a huge battle, where the evil guy or girl tries to take down the boy, but after a long and grueling time, he triumphs! But that's not what happens. A rustling sound happens in the bushed to the boy's left. Victor clamps one hand on his mouth. The boy jumps over the bushes and into a small campsite, where a girl, much smaller than the District 1 boy is huddled against a tree. For a bad guy, she looks pretty small and scared, even Victor can see that. But the boy begins to laugh. "How pathetic!" He roars. He bends down near the girl's trembling face, with tears going down her cheeks. She's crying! The bad guys don't cry in Victor's movies. The boy whispers in her ear. "Are you scared?" She tries to scream, but he grabs her throat. "You're going to run away, aren't you?" He sneers. "Well, that's cute. But there's nowhere to run. And you're just too easy." With that, he rakes his sword across her neck. Victor flinches as the girl screams. This just doesn't seem right somehow. But the girl isn't dead yet. The boy is literally chopping her up! And he's laughing! Victor wants to scream. No, this is too scary. Why is his hero making the girl scream like that? But now there is no more screaming. Victor takes a deep breath and turns to his daddy. "Why did the boy kill her daddy? I know she was a bad guy, but she was so much smaller than him, and really scared. He was so mean and scary, daddy. Why?" His daddy takes a long, shaky breath.

"Victor, whatever people have been telling you about good and bad guys is a lie. The arena is full of scared, trembling kids. He didn't kill that girl for honor; he killed her because she was weak. It's just killing Victor. Don't let anyone change that for you."


	9. Different

**Today is Victor's Birthday….**

The building is so gigantic that Victor almost wants to back away. But he's brave. And brave, strong kids don't back away. So he follows his father right up the steps into the Training Center. Once inside, he's immediately greeted by a very cheery looking lady, who he, for some reason, instantly dislikes. "Welcome future victor!" The lady smiles at him. Victor notices that her eyes are a very strange bright orange color. He doesn't like to admit it, but he's a little bit scared of them so he tries to avoid eye contact by looking around the room. In the right corner, a woman is typing really fast on some machine. There is a bright red rug on the floor and the walls are shiny wood. It doesn't really look like a place where people will be fighting with swords. But suddenly Victor hears shouting. The orange-eyed lady gives a sharp sounding laugh. "That will be the tributes. Shall we go see them?" Victor nods enthusiastically. "Yeah!" He shouts. His father chuckles behind him and turns to the lady.

"That's my boy. He's excited already." The lady opens a door for them and leads them down the hallway. It's plain gray concrete with a row of cold metal doors, very unlike the lobby Victor was just in. Victor can't help but think it's a little odd. Suddenly, the chirpy lady opens a big set of metal double doors by pressing her palm against a red button. The doors swing open into the largest room Victor has ever seen. It's filled with kids of all ages. In a far left corner, huge boys toss spears at targets. They all look like they could win the Games. In another corner, a few girls closer to Victor's age throw knives at moving targets. Victor vaguely wonders how they are doing that so well. A line of ropes snakes across the top of the room and an obstacle course is right next to Victor. He's just itching to try it out. In fact, a group of kids who look just his age are lining up behind it. He runs over to join them. Victor's father waves goodbye, then heads back to the lobby with the odd lady. Victor plants himself in the back of the line. He's a little nervous, knowing that unlike regular school, he's not coming home tonight. This is home now. But mostly he's just excited. The instructor turns to him. He nods and turns to the other children. "This is our new trainee, Victor." Victor is expecting him to say something else, maybe mention that Victor is the son of a Games Winner, or even introduce the other kids, but he doesn't. Victor watches the first girl begin the obstacle course, at the lowest setting possible. She falls down after not even 3 seconds. The instructor shakes his head angrily, and then yanks her back up. "Jewel, what is wrong with you!" He roars.

Most of the other children jump back, but Victor is used to such things being shouted. His mother has even started yelling and hitting Amandine now. It's strange, because just a moment later she will be back to cooing at baby Amethyst. Aunt Jade coos at her baby, Glimmer all the time, but somehow Victor doubts she hits. The instructor continues roaring at Jewel. "This is the third time this week that you haven't made it past the second obstacle. You are useless!" With that, he pushes her roughly to the side. Jewel begins to cry. The instructor ignores her and tells a boy to begin the obstacle. But soon the boy is crying as well. He's scared of the instructor. And just like that, just about every kid in Victor's group is sobbing. Except for Victor and one other girl. A group of instructors rushes over to calm and toughen up the group while chaos goes on. The girl who isn't crying turns to Victor. "Crying is a sign of weakness you know." She tells him matter-of-factly.

"I know." He answers.

"My name's Pearl. I'm going to be a victor!" She smiles. Victor doesn't have time to tell her that he's going to be one too, when a bell rings. Pearl grabs his arm. "Come on, that means it's time to go to dinner, and then back to the Boarding House, where you go to sleep. You can sit at dinner with me." Victor shrugs. He guesses he's okay with that. He doesn't really know who else he can eat with anyways. He follows all the others into another huge gray, metal room. A group of people are standing behind a counter serving food to other children with trays. Pearl points out all the good and bad things that Victor should eat. He eventually settles for a piece of chicken, some potato wedges and an apple. Pearl sets down her tray at a table with no one sitting at it. "The food here is really good for you. It'll make you grow super big and strong." Victor smiles. He really wants to grow big and strong. He and Pearl munch away at the food. Victor doesn't like it all that much. It's not that it's yucky tasting, but it's tasteless. After eating the chicken and the potatoes, he's full, but it wasn't a particularly enjoyable meal. He misses the family's personal chef. At least there's dessert to look forward to.

He turns to Pearl. "So what's for dessert?" She raises her eyebrows at him, as if he just said something very silly.

"Dessert?" She questions. Victor speaks the next words very slowly.

"Yeah, dessert, like cookies and cakes and stuff." Pearl nods as if she is trying to understand.

"I've heard of those things, but I don't think I've ever tried them. I've been here for maybe 2 months, but they've never served us dessert. I think they said it could slow us down in training. I didn't get it at home either because only the rich people can have dessert." She pauses. Victor is confused. So Pearl is poor? He has learned about poor people in school when they talk about other districts, but he's never met a poor person. He looks over and gives Pearl a quick sniff. She backs away. "What are you doing?" Victor shrugs.

"I was seeing if you were dirty, like we learned that the poor kids in the districts are. But you don't seem that dirty to me." He tells her. Pearl nods again.

"Oh yeah, we learned the same stuff. Only, being poor in District 1 is different. Plus, there are showers here at the Training Center. I'm at the Training Center because it got hard for my daddy to feed me, because he works in the diamond mines and nobody's rich there. He says I have to try hard not to be eliminated for as long as possible, so I can get fed good stuff." Victor looks at Pearl.

"What's eliminated?" Pearl explains to him that that's what it's called when you get sent back home. Victor remembers that he's heard the word before. Suddenly, a huge boy comes and steals Victor's apple. The boy is absolutely gigantic and he turns to laugh with his absolutely gigantic friends. Victor frowns. That was _his _apple. But Pearl gets up and literally blocks the boy's way. Victor sits back in shock. What is she doing? That boy could crush her like a bug! The boy looks shocked too for a second, then regains his composure and bends down to look at Pearl. "Well, do you want to get out of the way, little girl?" He says in a menacing voice. But Pearl stands strong.

"That was my friend's apple. Give it back to him _now._" All of the huge boys start laughing. Victor feels his face turn red. Why won't Pearl just sit down? Well, Pearl obviously isn't listening.

"Victor needs that apple so he can grow into a big Career, because that's what he wants to be." She stops for a minute and puts her hands on her hips. Victor tries to make himself even smaller. Maybe if he tries hard enough he can disappear. Pearl shouts the next words to the huge boy. "But you're not gonna be a Career, because Careers have to be smart and you're _dumb." _The boy draws back his arm. Victor puts his head in his hands. That boy is going to punch Pearl! In that moment, he decides to be the big and strong Career he's planning to be. He is going to punch that boy right back. But instead, the shocked boy just hands Victor back his apple. Well, he probably doesn't want to hit a little girl. Victor stares at the apple in his palm. Oh yes, Pearl is very different from anyone he has ever met. But he thinks he's just found a friend.


	10. Forbidden

**Today is Victor's Birthday…**

Eliminations. That is probably the scariest word Victor has ever heard. The gymnasium around him is filling with the buzzing noise of hundreds of District 1 parents congregated for one of the single most important days in the lives of their children. Victor tries to make out his own family in the crowd. He eventually spots them, his mother and Aunt Jade. Aunt Jade bounces little Glimmer on her lap and chats happily with Victor's mother, who bounces baby Amethyst on her hip as if this isn't the most nerve-racking thing to ever happen to Victor. Amandine sits next to her, squirming in her tight-fitting dress. He feels bad for her because she's going to have to wear it all day, because they are going back to the house to celebrate his birthday after the ceremony, as it falls on the same day. Amandine smiles and gives him a thumb up. Even though he doesn't feel like it, he gives her one back. He really likes Amandine because she's such a nice little sister. She practically worships him. Even though Amethyst isn't even two years old yet, he thinks he won't like her much. Amethyst cries a lot around him, but not around mom. She really likes mom and Victor thinks she spoils Amethyst. Amandine hardly gets any attention. Now Victor spots Ruby, in a crowd of thirteen year old girls. Victor feels a wave of sadness. Ruby isn't coming to celebrate his birthday. She said she has more important things to do. She has to train. But Pearl is coming. Victor asked if he could bring a friend, and his mom said yes. He didn't mention that his friend was a girl or that she was poor. He had a feeling she wouldn't want that.

Now he finds Pearl and goes to stand next to her. At first he felt embarrassed to do this because the boys in his group gave him a tough time, but Pearl taught him how to ignore them. "Do you think we'll have to go home?" Pearl asks him. Victor considers this. He's strong. He's already lifting more than most of the boys and he always wins in wrestling. He _can't_ go home. He thinks about Pearl. She always wins in the obstacle course and when they have to throw things, like practice darts and balls, at the targets, she almost always hits it. Pearl can't go home! She's really great at lots of things! But he can't answer her because now the cheery lady with the strange eyes is stepping up to the podium. She begins a speech. It's short, just about how hard everyone's been working, but some harder than others. Victor stands straighter and notices Pearl doing the same. Now she's started reading names. Those are the names of the people that are staying. Victor is glad that she starts with the 9 year olds first, so he won't have to wait for too long. He vaguely hears "Pearl Harrison." He claps louder than anyone else in the room. A wave of relief washes over him now, because his friend is tough. And now his parents know that too. The very next name is his. His! He can stay and become a victor! He runs to his family to celebrate. Dad pats him on the back and mom even congratulates him. Amandine jumps up and down, clapping. "Are you going to be a Career now, Vicky?" He tells her the truth. Of course he's going to be one! Out of the corner of his eye, he spots Pearl hugging a very dirty looking man. He's wearing a soiled miner's jumpsuit and his old, weathered face looks like it hasn't been washed in years. But Pearl is hugging him so tightly and he is laughing so hard that tears come out of his eyes. "You've made me so proud." He says over and over again. Then he wraps his arms around her. Victor has never seen two people looking so happy. He didn't know parents could treat their children like that. He can't remember ever being hugged.

Pearl finally walks over to him. Victor feels slightly glad that his parents never saw her poor father. They all walk back to Victor's house, chatting excitedly. Amandine grabs onto Pearl's hand and swings it back and forth. When they get there, Victor's mom immediately begins getting out cake and tea. Pearl looks around, taking in the huge grand staircase, the chandeliers, and the countless spacious rooms. Victor hears her breath "wow." She turns to him. "Do you want to take the little kids and go outside?" Victor understands that she probably doesn't feel comfortable inside. So he gathers up the children, much to his mom and aunt's relief, and they go outside. Amethyst does not want Victor to carry her, and Pearl is busy holding Amandine's hand, so he sets the disagreeable child down to toddle on her own and picks up his cousin Glimmer. Glimmer is a much sweeter baby who is always smiling and giggling. She giggles right now as Victor puts her down in the grass. "Oh, she's so cute!" Pearl coos. She scoops her up and tickles her. Glimmer squirms and laughs. When Pearl sets her down, she goes back to Victor and falls asleep with her head on his shoulder. Amandine and Pearl play a baby hand game that Amandine must have learned from school. Pearl tries to pick up Amethyst, but Amethyst immediately begins to scream and cry. "Mommy!" She cries again and again. So Victor, Pearl and Amandine take the babies inside and they're just in time for cake. Pearl stares at the china as if it could break at the slightest touch. She also spends a long time staring at the cake. "What's this?" She asks. Victor feels himself blushing. His mom tells her that it's "just vanilla cake" with a surprised look on her face. "Oh, that sounds so yummy! I've never tried that before because we didn't have the money. Vanilla cake is for people who are really rich, right?" Victor's face turns an even brighter shade. This is just so humiliating. Victor's mother is at a loss for words. The rest of the afternoon is fairly quite. When it seems like it can never end, it's time for Pearl and Victor to get back to the Training Center. Pearl leaves the house first, but Victor's mom pulls him back in.

"Victor, I don't want you to bring that girl back here. We don't talk to miners. They just aren't our kind. I need you to understand that you can't play with Pearl anymore, okay? If the other nice boys see you playing with a mean, dirty girl with no manners, well, they won't want to play with you anymore."

Victor nodded quickly. "Okay, mom. I understand."

But it's something entirely different that he understands. He understands that his mother is wrong. Pearl is the best friend he's ever had. From then on, Victor stops. Stops listening to his mother. And that day, he stops something else too. He has realized that all these years his mother didn't really care about him. If she did, she wouldn't care that his friend was just a little bit poorer. In that moment, Victor realizes the truth. His parents are using him. And in that moment, he stops loving them.


	11. Lie

**Today is Victor's Birthday…**

Victor swings at a dummy. He has finally been allowed to use real swords. Of course, they are just very lightweight ones, but swords just the same. He loves the way they feel like they're part of his own arm. Right now, he's doing his favorite, hand-to-hand combat. Victor knows that hand-to-hand means that he's close to his enemy. He can wrestle them, his specialty, and then kill them with his sword. Sometimes, when he's sure no one is listening, he pretends he is in the arena by imitating what he thinks the announcer sounds like. "Now presenting…your victor!" The game is still fun. Victor knows he isn't very good at what the instructors call "long range weapons." Those are things like spears, throwing knives and archery, which are just a few. His aim is adequate, but not great. He misses a lot with the knives, and archery is his worst of all. Pearl though, is excellent with them. Right now, she is practicing with these little axe-thingies. They are smaller than the regular ones. Regular axes are super heavy, as Victor knows. A few weeks ago the instructors had the group try to lift them, just to see if anyone could. The only one who could get it over their head was a boy named Jasper. Victor felt really angry because he dislikes no on more than Jasper Pinot. Jasper is constantly teasing Victor, mostly about Pearl. The Locker Room the boys change and shower in is always filled with the familiar "Victor has a girlfriend" chanting. Victor has long since given up telling them that Peal isn't his _girlfriend,_ just a friend that's a girl.

Today begins another year of eliminations. Victor hates how they happen on his birthday. But the eliminations also follow on a day known as "the Reaping." He knows that that's when the brave heroes volunteer to go into the arena. He really hopes they can win, so they can bring the district glory. He won't be able to watch the Games, though. That will be allowed next year. What could possibly happen in those Games that Victor can't see yet? It's not fair. Still, next year they will have a new class called "Game strategy." The group of 11 year olds will sit in a classroom and watch past Games and talk about what the contestants did right and wrong. It sounds really boring to Victor and it means less time with his swords. The 10 year olds recently got a new class. It's called "Sponsor strategy" and Victor thinks it's the stupidest thing he's ever done. They have to practice talking so people will like them, _waving_ the right way, _sitting _the right way, and even _blowing kisses the right way. _The girls all love it, except for Pearl. That's probably one of the reasons they are still friends. Most of their conversations are about how ridiculous their instructor, Shimmer Angora is. Pearl always makes Victor crack up with her imitation of Ms. Angora's annoying nasal voice. Victor is almost laughing now as he thinks of this. He immediately straightens up. You shouldn't get too distracted when you have a sword in your hand. Focus. Control. That's what he's supposed to do, like the trainers all say. He takes a deep breath. Maybe it's time for a break.

He walks over to the water machine and fills up one of the paper cups. As he drinks, he turns to watch the eight year olds. His cousin Emory is among them. As always, Emory is boasting loudly, this time about how fast he finished the obstacle course. That's when he hears it. "I'm gonna be a Victor!" Emory shouts to a group of awe-filled babies. Victor feels a wave of anger surge over him. What does Emory think he's doing?! Victor will be the winner! He will bring his family glory, not dumb, big-mouthed baby Emory! Suddenly, he hears Pearl walk up behind him. "That one's your cousin, right?" Victor nods; his face still red with anger and shame. Pearl actually laughs. "Well, you don't think he could win, do you?" She shakes her head. "He's not going to. I can just tell. He just seems like an idiot." Victor laughs. Pearl is pretty good at cheering him up. Besides, she's right. Emory couldn't possibly win. He barely hears what Peal says next. It's just a mumble, as if she's saying it into her water cup.

"What did you say Pearl?" He says back to her. She stares at her water for a little bit, then turns and looks him in the eye. Her ice-blue eyes are glazed with certainty.

"I said that you will win, Victor. I know you will." She stops for a second while Victor beams with pride. "I know!" She suddenly shouts, excitedly. "I'll win when I'm 17, and you will win when you're 18. Then we can be neighbors in the Victors Village. It'll be great!" Victor agrees. Pearl is right, like she always is. She's the best in all the classes, even the ones she hates. He doesn't think she's ever given an instructor a wrong answer. "Come on!" Victor jumps. The voice startled him. "Come on you two _lovebirds_ we have to shower to get ready for the Elimination ceremony." As expected, the voice belongs to Jasper. Victor stalks angrily past him and into the shower room.

The eliminations go just as Victor thought they would. The gym is filled with parents, mostly those of the 9 year olds, who are the ones with the most at stake, as almost half of them get sent home. Out of about 30 ten year olds, five will be eliminated. And unfortunately, Jasper isn't one of them. He's strong, especially with swords, just like Victor. That's another reason why Victor can't stand him. Swords are for Victor! They're _his _specialty. Next year, when they officially choose they're weapon, the two will likely choose the same one. The five that are eliminated consist of Amber and Diamond, two really giggly girls who really annoy him. Of course, they like Sponsor Strategy the best. Peal is annoyed with them because she says their names are "way too boring. Everyone is named Amber or Diamond here!" Another one who is eliminated is Lux Evans, a boy who Victor was sort of friends with. His mother encouraged it, trying to get Victor to forget about Pearl. Lux was a pretty good make-believe player and he never teased Victor. He was really great at wrestling, but Lux was pretty overweight and it was very hard for him to run. Victor feels bad to see him go because he knows his father won't let him play with someone who was eliminated when they were just 10. The other is a girl named Chardonnay, who hardly said two words to anyone but had one of the fastest times in the obstacle course. She couldn't do anything else though. She was scared of weapons. "A diamond mines kid" her mother said. The last is Jewel, another "miner's kid." "You can tell by those awful common names." Victor's mother said. He remembers Jewel as the one who cried on his first day. He wondered how she got this far anyway.

The eliminations have ended. Ruby, who Victor still hasn't seen much of, is still in. Of course she is, with the amount of training she puts in. She won't even stop to talk to him at the water machine, for goodness sakes! He almost wants to complain to her mom about it, but that wouldn't be a very mature thing to do. Pearl runs up to him. She's about to say something, but then Victor catches his mother's eye. "I have to go!" He stammers and rushes over to her. He sees Pearl shaking her head confusedly and walking over to her father, who smiles and pats her on the back, obviously proud of her. "That's a good boy Victor; we don't talk to them, right?" He nods stiffly. He knows he's lying, but a small part of him feels like he's betraying his only friend.


	12. Empathy

**Today is Victor's Birthday…**

Today is the big day. It's the day when, after the eliminations, the 11 year olds will watch last year's Hunger Games to celebrate their maturity and the beginning of the new class. Victor has decided that it's worth it to have to sit in a desk for even longer in the day if he can watch the Games all the way through at last. It's also the day when each of the remaining 20 eleven year olds will state the weapon that they will use. He's excited to step onto the podium and show everyone that he was strong enough to make it this far. He steps into the hot shower. It feels good on his muscles, sore from handling the heavy swords. Over the curtain he hears the familiar taunting voice of Jasper. "Hey Lover, are you and the lady still going steady?" Oh, if only that horrid boy could be eliminated once and for all! But Victor concentrates on the sound of water running and pretends he can't hear him. Nothing is going to ruin this day. He turns off the water and wraps himself in a towel and then goes to put on his outfit. All the children wear the same thing, navy blue pants with a stripe on the side, showing which year they are in. Victor's stripe is brown. Then they have a tight-fitting short-sleeved black t-shirt and all black running shoes. Victor likes the outfit. It's comfortable. He tugs on his shoes (they're slip on, which is good because Victor is secretly very bad at tying shoes.) The gymnasium is once again filling up with all the parents. "Hi Victor!" Oh no. He wishes he could disappear as Pearl and her dad walk right over to him. He suddenly becomes very conscious of the black stains on the man's face and the dirt beneath his fingernails. The dirty fingernails rest on Pearl's shoulder.

"Victor, Pearl has been telling me so much about you! I understand that you're rather good with swords." Victor nods. The man seems nice enough. Besides, he hugs Pearl and laughs with her, so he can't be that bad. "Well, I'm just so happy my Pearl has a friend like you." Pearl and her dad beam at him before the man heads over to the bleachers. Pearl follows, chatting excitedly about the day's activities. Victor is very excited too. It feels like the ceremony is just for him, even if it's just coincidence that he was born on Reaping Day, which also is Elimination Day. Suddenly, he feels a hand on his shoulder. He turns around, a wave of happiness going through him. He sees the familiar honey-blonde hair and blue-green eyes. Ruby. He hasn't talked to her in such a long time. But she doesn't want to laugh and joke with him. Her eyes look like what Victor can only describe as cold. "I saw you talking to those dirty mining people. I know that little girl is your friend." Victor stares at the ground. Why won't anyone in his family just let them be friends? He thought of all people, Ruby, his favorite person in the whole world, would understand. "Don't you ever pair up with her. She's going to be eliminated soon. Miner's kids never get far. She's not well trained and she's…she's just dirty!" Ruby spits out. Then, seeing the look on Victor's face, she softens her look so she almost looks like the Old Ruby. "What I'm saying is, it would be better for everyone if you paired up with a nice, strong boy in your group." She pats his shoulder. "Train hard, Victor." And with that, she's gone.

As Shimmer Angora, who Victor has finally placed as the cheery lady from his first day, steps onto the podium he tries to forget the exchange. Well, he isn't going to be talking to her in a long time anyway. She's 15 and she has to train hard to avoid being eliminated. Victor shuffles impatiently as the 9 year olds begin. Emory is among them. Maybe he will have to go home. That would be good. Then Victor could bring his family glory, not that little brat. But of course, he isn't. He's staying for another year. Victor lets out a sigh. Maybe next year. Finally, it's time for the 11 year olds. A few names are called, more children in his group who weren't very good at anything. Here is where it gets interesting. One by one, the children go up and choose a weapon. Victor goes up too. He's proud to see his name on the list later.

Champagne Lucian- throwing knives

Mercury Calvert- spears

Flint Locke-daggers

Cornelia Beryl-spiked whips

Onyx Fitch-swords

Jasper Pinot-swords

Jewelia Vesperi- throwing knives

Pearl Harrison-throwing small axes

Victor Sybil-swords

Luster Flavian-machetes

Flint Colvin-crossbow

Gloss Terrence-spears

Luxor Williams-daggers

Virdinia Hart- blow darts

Carenelia Dumont-archery

Jett Tillman-throwing knives

Aloysius Emmerdean-spears

Silk Demmer-crossbow

Perseus Avery- machetes

Cashmerete Shine-daggers

It's right there, under Pearl's now! He glows with excitement and pride as the children file into an empty classroom. They will spend the next two hours in here, watching all the footage they can on last year's Games. Victor knows that the boy from his district won, so he's glad that he won't have to watch people lose. He moves to sit in one of the desks, in the front row facing a screen. Pearl sits next to him, but he's fine with that. No one who really matters can see them. The screen lights up "The 58th Annual Hunger Games." The classroom is filled with excited whispers. "This is so cool." Victor whispers to Pearl. But Pearl just shrugs. "I'm not sure if I really want to watch this. All the kids dying and all that. Some of them are just a year older than us." Victor shakes his head. Oh, this is unbelievable. They're watching this for strategy! And besides, it's a _Game_ and the winners get super rich and are heroes. A tiny voice in the back of his head whispers _maybe Pearl isn't victor material. Maybe you shouldn't be her friend._ Victor snaps himself out of it. Pearl will get excited about it, once she gets caught up in the Games. It'll be fine. He sits back to watch the Chariot Parade. It's hopelessly boring. It's just a bunch of kids dressed in costumes. Mrs. Angora is showing them the way the District 1 pair is blowing kisses. "See how they're smiling, but its natural? They look calm, like they're comfortable with the audience, right class?" Victor slumps in his seat. How stupid. But he's surprised to find that the girl from District 3 is just a little older than him, maybe. She's the smallest one there. Victor racks his brain trying to find out what they do in District 3. Oh that's right, it's Technology. What a useless thing for the arena. Next are the training scores. Victor, being 11 years old, knows all about that system. It's based on a score of 1-12. The girl from 1, Vibia, gets a 9. Victor hopes his score will be that high one day.

The boy got a 10! Victor finds himself clapping. The rest of the class joins in. He feels a surge of pride in his district. The other scores are predictable. The kids from 2 and 4 get high ones. "Those are our allies class. They are powerful and very helpful. You should never hesitate to team up with them." Victor almost groans at Mrs. Angora's voice. They know that! It's not like they're idiots or anything. But his attention is drawn back to the screen. The girl from 5 has somehow gotten an 8, the same score as two of the Careers. Victor shoots his hand up and Mrs. Angora pauses the show. "Yes, Victor?"

"I thought the outer kids were weak, especially the small ones. How come a small kid from the outer districts got the same score as a Career?" He asks.

"Well, sometimes those from outer districts do get a high score, even the small ones. The Careers will sometimes take those with unusually high scores into their pack, because they can help. But they are soon…eliminated." Victor nods, but as the Interviews come on, he can't really pay attention to Mrs. Angora's excited lesson on poise. He sees the girl's interview and finds out that her name is Astatine, and she likes to be called Asti. She has a little brother at home who is very sick. She wants the money when she wins so she can get him medicine. And she loves him very much. Now he can't stop thinking about that word Mrs. Angora said. Eliminated? Does someone just go into the arena and tell the girl that she has to go home with no glory, like at the Training Center? He thought they all had to die before you became the winner. But then he feels another small thought in the back of head. In the way back of his brain, deep down inside, he doesn't want Asti to die. Then her brother can die to. And he would die for no reason. Asti will die so the two from 1 can win, but that boy will have no reason to die. And that means he wants Asti to make it home. _Snap out of it Victor! She can't win because your home needs the glory, not hers. She's just a savage district kid. She won't win. That girl is just too weak. She needs to be….eliminated._

Finally, it's time for the Games. All the kids are lined up on raised circles looking at a structure filled with weapons. Victor remembers that it's called the Cornucopia. They are in the strangest landscape he's ever seen. Yellow powdery stuff, sand he remembers it's called, surrounds them as far as Victor can see. A muddy looking river snakes between three huge triangle buildings. What an odd shape for buildings! "It's a desert!" Virdinia shouts out. Victor sighs. Virdinia is a bit of a know-it-all. But yes, it's a desert. The sand slows everyone down as they run for weapons. Suddenly, the room erupts in cheers, likely started by Jasper. All the boys and some of the girls are chanting for the District 1 pair. Victor finds himself joining them. This is way better than movies! But some of the girls are staring at the screen looking like they're going to be sick. Pearl is one of them. Even Victor has to admit that it's a little gross. The sand is covered in blood, and even skin! He vaguely hears Cashmerete leaving the room. Probably running to the bathroom. By the time she gets back, forced in by some instructors, the screen shows nightfall and half the kids are dead. The next few days are the same. Some kids die from heat stroke or thirst, and some die from bites of some strange insect. Two kids, the pair from 7, die in a booby trapped room in one of the triangle buildings. The girl from 1 dies of a snakebite. It was pretty gross. Finally, there are only three left, the boy from 2, Emory, the boy from 1 (Victor will never hear the end of that) and…Asti. She's made it this far by hiding out in one of the few un-booby trapped rooms in a building. She was really quick and smart, escaping from the ones in the hallway. She goes out to hunt little rabbits and things at night, when Mrs. Angora says its cooler. She has a wicked aim with a bow and arrow. But it's not good enough. Emory and the other boy jump her, and slit her throat. At least it was fast. The ending battle is fast too. While the boy from 2 is killing Asti, Emory drives his machete into his back. The children get up to leave the room. Suddenly, Victor turns around and notices Pearl. She sits, staring at the blank screen, a single tear going down her face. Pearl, whose first words to Victor were that crying was weak, Pearl who is the strongest person Victor knows, is crying.


	13. Shielded

**Today is Victor's Birthday…**

He walks through the empty streets of District 1. He and Pearl are among the only people outside. Everyone else is inside preparing for the hours to come. Today is the Reaping. They have just gone through the eliminations. Victor and Pearl still remain. Of course. He and Jasper are no doubt the top two boys with swords, and Victor feels the top two boys overall. His father will be proud. Right now he is walking to their house. All the children at the Center were dismissed early so they could dress in Reaping clothes and get ready. Pearl walks next to him, staring at all the signs of the downtown area. "I can't remember the last time I was out here." She pauses for a minute, then adds under her breath "or outside at all." Victor doesn't get why she sounds so angry. He really likes the Training Center. Who would want to go outside anyway? He looks at Pearl. "Why'd you want to go outside? I mean, what do you do anyway?" Pearl stares at him as though he had said he didn't know what a sword was or something.

"I don't know how to explain it to someone like you." She snapped. Victor stopped in his tracks. The way she said that "someone like you" was exactly the way his mother would have said it when describing Pearl. Was Pearl proud of being poor? But Pearl's tone quickly softened. "It's just that I used to play outside all the time when I was little. We had the tiniest house, but my father, whenever he didn't have to go to work, would take me to this little meadow. I just…I really miss that is all I'm saying I guess." She shrugs. Victor doesn't really know what to do. He finds himself subconsciously patting her on the back. Well, now he probably seems horribly awkward. But Pearl doesn't seem to mind. Girls are much harder to understand than swords and things, Victor reasons. After a little more patting, Pearl seems to have cheered up. "So Victor, who do you think is going to win the Games at this rate?" Victor pulls himself up straighter. Well, here is the question he's wanted to answer for quite some time!

"Pearl, don't you remember that plan we made a long time ago? You're going to win when you're 17, and I will win when I'm 18." He answers confidently. He has remembered all this time. It was a very good plan. But Pearl looks sort of unsure now. How could she be unsure?

"Who do you think we'll be going with?" She asks. Oh, is that all? Well, that's a legitimate question. Victor thinks about this for a while. Pearl is probably the best girl there. And he's not just saying that because he's her friend. She practices extremely intensely. A lot of times, after dinner when everyone has free time, Pearl will go back into the gym. Victor follows her. The only other kids in the gym are usually 16 to 18 year olds. Ruby is among them, but Victor has given up on her a long time ago. Besides, she's at such an important point in her training, at 16 years old, that she doesn't have time to stop and talk anyway. Victor doesn't mind. The instructors at the gym always nod approvingly at him and Pearl. They're practice is paying off. Victor can't remember the last time someone beat him in hand-to-hand, or the last time Pearl missed a target with one of her axes. But they aren't the only ones excelling.

"I think maybe, though I hate to say it, I'll get sent with Jasper." Pearl suddenly says. She's probably right. Jasper, at his point, is Victor's biggest competition. But he's really arrogant. Anyone can see that. He doesn't practice as hard as him or Pearl. He probably thinks he can win without it.

"Hey Pearl, if you do get sent with him, don't hesitate to kill him. Kill him first, if have to." He tells her. Pearl laughs. Then, suddenly, she puts her arm around Victor's shoulder. They used to do this when they were smaller, but they haven't done it in a while. He's surprised to find himself missing it. So he puts his arm around her shoulder. Friends. No matter what people think. "Oh, I'll kill him all right." She laughs again. "The only problem is that throwing an axe is quick. I wish I could make it slower!" Now Victor is laughing. Oh, there's no doubt in his mind that Pearl could kill Jasper. At least, she could certainly outsmart him. Victor waves to her as he turns a corner out of the downtown area. Pearl will have a longer walk to the poor miner's village. In footage of the district that Capital citizens see on television, the miner's section is never shown. Only the wealthy vineyard owners, or the mayor's house, are shown. But they have to get their gems from _somewhere_. Victor heads up the tree-lined hill leading up to his grandfather's mansion at the top. He walks up the long walkway. He can't remember the last time he was at this house. Has it grown since then? He rings the doorbell. From the inside, he hears shouts. Victor smiles. Well, someone certainly is happy to see him. As if an answer to his thoughts, as soon as the door is opened by his mother, Amandine throws herself at him. He stumbles back, vaguely wondering where she learned to hug like this. It seems a strange thing to think of for an average child, but neither Victor nor his sister has ever been hugged, as far as they know. But Amandine is squeezing the life out of him! His mother tensely puts a shoulder on Amandine's shoulder. "That's enough Amandine. Your brother needs to get ready. Why don't you go take care of Amy?" As Amandine lets go of him, Victor wonders who Amy is. Then little Amethyst walks into the room and he places her as "Amy." Well, that's not fair. Amandine is only 7 years old. She shouldn't be "taking care" of anyone, least of all disagreeable, annoying Amethyst. Why doesn't someone "take care" of her? Besides, he and Amandine have never been given pet names. Victor grabs his sister's hand and stares up at his mother defiantly.

"I have more than enough time to get ready. I'm going outside to play with _Mandi. _I haven't seen her in a long time." He practically pulls her out the door, ignoring his mother's voice telling them to take "little Amy" with them. Huh. Mandi is a nice nickname. He will have to remember that. It's much nicer outside. Victor thinks he almost knows what Pearl was talking about. Maybe a small part of him missed the outdoors too. He turns to Amandine. In just a month, she will turn 8, and who knows how long it will be before she sees these lines of grapes or the green grass? "Hey Mandi, how would you like to have a piggy back ride through the grapes?" Amandine claps her hands and immediately hops onto his back. "Come on, we have to go deep into the vines! That way we can escape from Crys-, err, mom who will want us to babysit that little terror." He shouts, as he runs through the vines of green. She buries her face in his shoulder. Victor slows down. He runs his hands along the vines. He should go back. He'll be wanted in the Square in less than an hour. So he turns around, heading back to the huge house looming above them. Suddenly, he laughs, a sharp, cold laugh. It is so different from his laughter when he was younger. The joyful, innocent laughs, like when he played the hand game with Ruby at his first birthday, or when he first played with that wooden sword at his fourth. No, his laughs are short and sharp as the swords he uses now. He's laughing because he has realized that his house is so big, it seems to be blocking the sun. It just seems so fitting. Amandine stirs on his back and he sets her down. "Let's go inside." He whispers, giving her little hand a squeeze. Amandine stares up at him with her wide brown eyes.

"I love you, Victor." She whispers back. She loves him? How does she even know what love is? Certainly, his mother hasn't been saying that to her. Maybe she simply heard it from his mother saying it to Amethyst. Or she heard some kids at school saying they "loved" a game or they  
"loved" a certain color. But how could this "love" apply to humans? He doesn't know how to answer. He's hardly ever seen her, after all. So he just doesn't think. And what comes out of his mouth seems exactly right.

"I love you too Mandi."


	14. Moment

**Today is Victor's Birthday…**

He hastily wipes the sweat off his brow. The past week has been especially tough. He and Jasper have been constantly been assigned to be sparring partners, which meant that Victor had to put in a lot more effort than he usually does. It's not that he's lazy, but everyone likes to win, right? So every spare minute, it seems, he's been practicing with the dummies. He surveys his work. Two of the dummies are decapitated. Victor thinks for a moment. If he were in the Games, would he decapitate his victims? Well, it would be quick. But maybe sponsors would think he was insane. Or maybe they would think he was a ruthless killer who had a chance of winning. Sponsor Strategy was so confusing. It's his worst class. Pearl is great at it, of course. She's so likeable and all. Victor knows that at this point, he needs to have his talent speak for itself. He walks over to the water machine. Actually, he isn't thirsty. It's just an excuse to watch his little sister. He's chosen the right time. Amandine is just about to start the obstacle course.

"_Go Mandi, go." _He whispers to himself. And, like always, boy does she go! Mandi is absolutely fearless. After months of watching her do this, Victor knows that she is officially the fastest in her class. He feels a surge of pride. Maybe he should feel the same pride for Emory, now 11 years old. After all, he is one of the top in his class. Oh, but he's just so irritating! Besides, he couldn't win. He's way too arrogant. Victor should feel pride in Ruby. When he was younger, he felt as if his cousin was a true heroine. She is 17 now. If she can make it through this final elimination for her year, she is eligible to volunteer this year. But knowing Ruby, she will likely take an extra year. His thoughts drift to the Reaping Ball. It's a big event in District 1. When you're 13, you are eligible to go. It's to celebrate the future victors and the honor they could bring. Victor shakes his head. He's never been to a dance before. It's probably just something for those teenage lovers, or girls who are suckers for romance. He crumples the cup and tosses it into the trash. Time to go train some more.

Three hours later, everything seems to have changed for Victor. Ruby was eliminated. She had just hunched over and sobbed, forgetting all those lessons on how crying means weakness. She looks so small and weak. Victor bets his uncle, Ruby's father isn't happy. He must be so ashamed by his daughter. And she won't be able to bring back the family honor now. But, deep down inside, Victor feels a small glimmer of hope. Now he won't be over shadowed. He has made it through the eliminations another year. And he intends on keeping it that way. The Reaping took place, with the two 17 year olds volunteering. And then, as he was walking out of the Square, he saw Ruby. Tears were pouring down her face. Just then, for the first time in years, Ruby grabbed his hand. She told him that he had to win. Somehow, in that moment, Ruby seemed almost human again. And there's something else too. Victor has been asked to a dance.

H he paces nervously around his room with sweaty palms, feeling very stupid. Why all this worry about a girl? He stares at the immaculate suit on his bed. He's never worn it before, in fact, he can't even remember the last time he wore a suit. And yet, every time he comes home from the Center, he finds his closet filled with expensive suits. Now how is he supposed to know which tie will look good? What if he looks like a total idiot? Oh, pull it together! It seems like such stupidity. But maybe he should have paid more attention in Interview Strategy class….Well, it's too late now. All right, it's simple. It's just black pants, a white shirt, that red satin tie, and that black jacket. Oh, and the pair of nice black shoes. Actually, Victor doesn't know how nice they really are. He's a Career; he doesn't know anything about shoes! But they were the shiniest pair. And girls like shiny stuff, right? He stops to look at himself in the mirror. He's suddenly grateful for how short his blond hair has been cut. It's one less thing to worry about. Victor slowly makes his way down the staircase. "Oh, Victor," his mother breathes. He stiffens as she straightens his collar. "Now Victor, tell me the truth." His heart stops.

"Now you can't convince that you suddenly wanted to go to a dance for no reason at all, there must be something I'm missing." She smiles. Her smile is cold though. Victor almost shouts out of pure hatred for this woman. But instead, he chooses to answer calmly. "Well, there is this one girl who I really want to ask to dance with me." He chokes back a laugh. "Her name is Virdinia Hart." His mother cocks her head at him. For a moment, he thinks he's been caught. But instead, she lets out a laugh that sounds more like a harsh bark. "Oh, she's the smart one. Yes, she's from a very respectable family. She'll be a good girl for you." Her tone hardens. "But don't let her get in the way of your training." Victor straightens. "Oh, she won't." And he's not lying this time. Training will always be the most important thing.

He steps out of the gates and makes his way down the long walkway. The night is warm. The stars are all out. He turns down another street until he hits the downtown area. The shops are all lit up. And you know what? Victor realizes that it looks pretty nice here at night. He shoves his hands into his pockets. He vaguely hopes she doesn't notice how sweaty his palms are. And suddenly, there she is. That wispy blond hair of hers is finally out of its high ponytail. Victor didn't realize how long it was. Her dress is such a nice shade of blue. It falls to her ankles and actually looks like its shimmering. She gives him a huge grin, her cheeks just a little bit pink. She's blushing. So is Victor.

"Hey, Pearl."

"Hi, Victor."

He looks at his shoes. Okay, what should he say now? What do girls like to hear? He mentally tells himself not to try too hard. Just stay relaxed and natural. "You look really pretty Pearl." He whispers. Actually, he's wondering how she could even afford that dress. As if she was reading his thoughts, Pearl laughs. "It was my mother's!" Victor laughs nervously. "Well, come on, let's go inside." She urges. Victor shrugs, shoving his hands into his pockets again, "Umm, yeah sure, that sounds cool." Pearl gives him a funny look, then leads him into the doors. As soon as he gets into the gym, he feels uncomfortable. Everyone seems to be slow dancing with someone else. In fact, he thinks he can see some 16 year olds making out in a corner. Pearl squeezes his shoulder, giving him a sly grin. "Want to get up really close to some couple slow dancing and make them feel uncomfortable?" Oh, that's just like Pearl.

"Hell yeah I do!" They both run off, laughing. In fact, Victor spends most of the rest of the night laughing. He can't remember ever having this much fun. Since when has he laughed like this? And, just like that, the Ball is nearing its end. One last dance is announced. Some slow song begins to play. He catches Pearl's eye. Well, a night like this may never happen again.

"Pearl, do you want to dance?" He whispers. She gives his hand a squeeze.

"Hell yeah I do." She whispers into his ear. Laughing once again, he leads her into the dance floor. But as they stand, looking at each other, Victor suddenly remembers that he doesn't know how to dance. Pearl, like always, knows exactly what he's thinking. "Here, I'll show you. It's easy." She pulls his hand toward her waist, and then rests a hand on his shoulder. "Okay," she whispers, "now just sort of move back and forth and pretend you know what you're doing." Victor nods, his lips moving up into a smile. "And most importantly," she whispers, "just stay relaxed." Then, just like that, he feels her head resting on his shoulder. She's just the right height. Victor loves the way her head fits perfectly in his shoulder blade. The song ends far too shortly. Before he knows it, he and Pearl are walking on the street together to get back home. The roads are a little slippery. It must have rained because the streets are sparkling with water. Pearl has been holding his hand the whole time. In that moment, everything just seems…right. Then, it just happens. He leans over, and kisses Pearl. Right on her lips. He was so nervous, but then she kisses him too. She gives his hand yet another squeeze.

"Victor!" The shout breaks the still air like one of his swords. "Victor!" Pearl freezes. Victor recognizes the voice. It's his father. He almost tells Pearl to run, but his father comes too quickly. There is nothing to do. Nowhere to run.

"Victor, your mother fell down the stairs and broke her ankle. I came to get you and I-I saw you, you and-and that girl kissing." His eyes are filled with disgust. Cold, hard disgust. He grabs Victor by his shirt collar. Victor knows what he should do.

"Dad, I wasn't kissing her, I swear! Pearl's been following me for ages, and she just snuck up on me. Look, I have no idea what happened!"

His father looks over at Pearl, who is shaking. Victor knows that it wasn't enough. Oh God, he would do anything at this point just to earn his father's approval. He looks over to Pearl.

"Trust me; I would never do something like that. She's just a _miner's kid._ She won't be a victor, so I would never talk to her!"

This did it. His father loosens his grip on the collar. The man, his eyes still ice cold, turns to Pearl. "_You little slut." _He whispers through clenched teeth. Pearl gives a sniff, then takes off running. She will be back. Victor can just have a talk with her, and she'll understand and then forgive him. She'll have to. But she does turn around now to give Victor a last look before she turns to run around the corner. Tears are pouring down her face. She shakes her head at him slowly. Once to the right, once to the left. That's all. But it's enough.

Two days later, Pearl is dead.


	15. Remember

**Today is Victor's Birthday…**

_One, two three. _Three strikes before the dummy falls over. Once in the stomach, once in the chest and once in the throat. Victor prefers these moving dummies. They seem to "dodge" Victor's blows by moving side to side on a track. He now knows that the previous dummies he used aren't really helpful. No tribute would be staying that still. He is getting more ready with each day. Just now, he hears shouts coming from the climbing course. Instinct tells him to turn his head. The shouts are cheers from a group of 9 year olds. Amandine is at the top. Amandine. At the top. No. NO.

"_NOOOO!" _Victor lets out a scream and runs toward his sister. All the other people training in the gymnasium stop what they are doing. Weapons clatter to the ground. Everyone has to see the source of this disruption. Amandine freezes at the top of the course. An instructor holds Victor back. He fights momentarily, and then gives up. "Just get her off of that thing." He screams. And so an instructor is immediately sent up to help Amandine get down.

"Victor, there is no risk. It won't happen."

He only vaguely hears the voice which tells him this. That was what they had said. There had been "no risk." It was perfectly safe. There were mats on the ground. There was such a small chance of getting hurt.

Such a small chance. And yet it had happened. It was a "freak accident." She hadn't even fallen that far down. But it was enough. She had hit the ground in just the right place for it to happen. Right on her neck. Just a fraction of an inch below or above and she would have lived. But she didn't. And now she was gone. The only friend he'd ever had.

Victor shudders. The instructor looks at him with a confused expression on his face. Victor's shudders turn into shakes. "Why don't you just hit the showers and rest before eliminations." He pats Victor's back awkwardly. Victor nods numbly. A shower would be good. He drags himself over to the locker room. It's much better when it's empty in here. It's like Victor can just think. He turns the water to the hottest it can get. Usually, with all the other boys in the room, the water is lukewarm at best. With the help of the hot water, Victor slowly drifts off. But they aren't happy thoughts. His mind drifts off to that day, one year ago.

_He sits on the edge of his bed, unable to sleep. It will be okay, he tells himself. He will call Pearl. He has her phone number buried somewhere in his chest of drawers. He will explain to her about his family. And he will tell her that they can still be friends, or more, but that they have to keep it a little more secretive. Pearl will sound mad, but only at first. By the end of their conversation, she will be laughing and spewing out sarcastic comments. And Victor will pretend to be annoyed with her sarcasm, like always. But he really likes that sarcastic sense of humor. Victor moves toward his drawer. He's surprised to find out that the number hardly took any time to look for. He stares at the numbers. Not tonight. It's late. She's probably asleep. Still, a small part of him knows that Pearl isn't asleep. He isn't ready yet. Because now, after tonight, he can't help but feel that he's doing something wrong by talking to her. And so he falls asleep._

_Victor has the next two days off from training. He's glad for that, sure, but he wants to go to the Center nonetheless. He's 13, which means he should take responsibility for his own training. No one will have to tell him. So he gets into Training clothes and goes to open the door. But something stops him. What if Pearl is there? He just isn't ready for a conversation face-to-face. It would be much easier on the phone. He spends the rest of the day running back and forth from the phone, checking for messages. He doesn't feel ready yet, but maybe Pearl will…. Well, it's probably best anyway. Pearl will need a day to cool down. Yes, that's it. She will just need today to get her head level, and then Victor will call her. He smiles to himself. Everything will be okay._

_Once again, he is staring at numbers. It is the next morning. He's been putting this off long enough. It's time. Oh, who cares what his father does! Never mind him! Victor knows what he has to do. He dials the numbers, so slowly at first that the call is ended several times. But finally, Victor gets through._

"_Hello?" Victor recognizes the gravelly voice on the end as that of Pearl's father. He even sounds dirty. Victor sighs mentally. He has to go through with this, like it or not. _

"_Hello, its Victor, Pearl's friend. I-I need to talk to her. I, uhh, I have something I need to explain to her."_

_There is a long pause on the other end. Victor almost hangs up. No, this just too much. IT's too nerve-racking. But then the gravelly voice returns._

"_I should say you do. The night before last, she ran up into her room sobbing, and spent all day there yesterday. She wouldn't tell me a thing. Pearl always tells me everything."_

_Oh no. This is bad. This guy is mad, and Victor knows it. Is Pearl's father going to yell at him on the phone? What's he going to do? But what he does do next is something completely unexpected._

"_I appreciate you calling Victor. I know that you are a good person. And only the strongest young man can call someone else to ask for forgiveness. That's a very hard thing to do. I will make sure to explain that to Pearl, but I have a feeling she already knows. She really likes you Victor and she's always going on about you. I have a feeling you can get through whatever this is."_

_Victor feels himself blushing. Pearl goes on and on about him at home? "Thanks Mr. Harrison." He manages to get out._

"_No problem, boy. But my advice to you is to not let Pearl hang up. She can be stubborn, but I know you will figure something out. Hang in there! I know you can."_

_Victor nods, then realizes that since he's on the phone, Mr. Harrison can't see him. But he feels better now. He heard what Mr. Harrison said. He's strong! _

"_Can I talk to Pearl now?"_

_He hears laughing on the other end. Laughing? "Oh, I'm sorry son. Pearl is at the Training Center now. But I will be sure to tell her that you called."_

_Victor actually does sigh into the phone. "All right, another day for her to calm down might be best. I'll just talk to her tomorrow."_

"_Whatever you think is best. It's all up to you, Victor. Only you can decide how this ends, okay? But I trust you'll do the right thing."_

_And with that, the man hangs up. After the call, Victor feels it would be best to walk Pearl to the Center on the next day. That way, by the time they get there, the issue will have disappeared, and he can concentrate on his training. He makes his way through the mining district, searching for Pearl's address. All the houses here are so small. Victor can't imagine living in one. Unlike the areas of the district Victor has seen, everything here seems gray. There is hardly any color. Victor thinks he knows now what Mr. Harrison's motivation for Pearl staying in training was. Any place seems better than here. He stops in front of another gray, squat one-floored house. It's probably one-roomed too. He raises his hand to knock on the door. Three long bangs echo through the heavy air. Actually, the air does feel what Victor can only describe as "heavy." He has just realized that no one is outside. There are no children running around, no adults strolling and chatting. He does hear voices coming from the side of the house. Since it doesn't seem like anyone is answering Victor's knocks, and now he risks being late for training, he decides to follow the voices. Two men are leaning against a wall, both wearing miner's outfits. Their voices are low and serious. Something seems very wrong here. "Excuse me," Victor says, hoping his voice isn't shaking, "but I was wondering if I had the right house. I was looking for the Harrison's place. Their daughter, Pearl, she has to go to training now, and we were going to walk there together." He wonders why he told them that last part. Oh well, it doesn't matter. But they just stare at him. One of them takes the dirtiest handkerchief Victor has ever seen out of his pocket._

"_He doesn't know." Says the other. Know? Know what? The man leans down to in front of Victor, placing his hand on his shoulder. Victor resists the urge to shake him off. Won't someone tell him what's going on?_

"_Son, Pearl died yesterday."_

Victor unwraps the towel around his waist and pulls on his clothes. It's time to stop living in the past. What's done is done. He runs his fingers through his hair. Is there a chance of him being eliminated this year? He was distracted the first few weeks and his performance wasn't half as good as usual. The eliminations of 14 year olds are notorious for being one of the largest. But since then he has been putting every ounce of himself to training. He made a promise to Pearl. He is going to win. So he has been staying at the Center until the lights go out. He comes on weekends so often, he realizes that it's been at least two months since he last saw his sister Amethyst, and at least a year since he saw his cousin Glimmer. Neither his mother nor his father has asked for him to come home for a visit. Victor doesn't care. Suddenly, he reads the time on the clock. Damn! He's missing the ceremony! He practically bursts through the double doors to the gymnasium, but the place is so packed that no one notices him. He comes just in time to hear Amandine's name being read. She has made it another year. Well, of course she has. She's a strong girl. Pearl liked her. He remembers that. She used to play hand games with her in the dining hall. Maybe Amandine reminded her of herself. They both always had something to say. Emory, now 12, makes it through another year. Victor remembers his weapon of choice as daggers. He must be at least adequate with those things. Finally, it's time for the 14 year olds.

"Champagne Lucian"

Mercury Calvert"

"Cornelia Beryl"

"Jasper Pinot"

"Jett Tillman"

"Gloss Terrence"

"Virdinia Hart"

"Luxor Williams"

"Flint Colvin"

"Victor Sybil"

So there it was. His name was last. There is no feeling quite like that of having your name called last. You feel so sure it will never be called, but then, there it is. Victor turns to leave the gymnasium. Crowds are all filing out. Victor can make out his parents talking to Emory's parents, as well as Glimmer's. For some reason, his mother is paying no mind to Amandine at her side. Victor moves over to them. He grabs her hand into his own. She looks up at him with those big, brown eyes of hers. "Victor, how come mommy and daddy aren't hugging me?" She asks. Oh, leave it to Mandi to ask a question that's impossible to answer. He bends down to Amandine. What would Pearl do? She always had the answers for everything.

"Here, I'll hug you, Mandi. I'm really proud of you for making it." He puts his arms around her tiny frame. She rests her head on his shoulder. For a split second. And Victor is surprised to find how perfectly her head fits there. They both stand up, their parents nowhere in sight. Not that it matters. Victor leads her out the doors, but then he suddenly stops. There, fluttering in the breeze, just above the door, is a bright orange flyer. For the Annual Reaping Ball. He stares at it, the words blurring together.

"Why are you staring at that, Vicky?" Amandine's voice brings him back.

"I'm just…remembering." He whispers.

"Remembering what?" She swings his hand in her own, her eyes filled with curiosity.

"The time I learned how to dance."


	16. Notice

**Today is Victor's Birthday…**

He stirs in bed, just as sunlight makes its first appearance in the windowpane. Victor sits up, rubbing his eyes and stretching. It's early, but he knows that it's never too early to start training. By now, breakfast will have been laid out in the cafeteria. Probably some kind of bran oatmeal and energy bars. But that's okay. By now, Victor has long since gotten used to the taste of these things. His eyes shift to the other beds, arranged neatly and precisely around the corners of the room. In the bed closest to his, Jasper lets out a rumbling snore. Jasper is a perpetual snorer. When was the last time he teased Victor? It would have had to have been years ago.

"_Lovebirds, lovebirds!"_

"_Victor and Pearl, sitting in a tree k-i-s-s-i-n-g…"_

"_Hey lover boy! How's the lady?"_

Yes, it's been years. Since Pearl's death, there has been no more childish teasing. It's something completely now, as they draw ever closer to the final two being announced. Jasper has been trying his hardest to intimidate Victor. He fights hard with him during practice sessions. Several times this past year, Victor has been rushed to the first aid station because Jasper "inadvertently" used a real move on him. He has turned from an irritating, teasing boy, to an arrogant and sadistic brute. Even Amandine tells him that he's been known to push around the little kids. Everyone, even "brave" Emory, is afraid of him. Next to Jasper's bed is a boy by the name of Jett. Victor doesn't mind Jett terribly. They both keep to themselves, but are known to partner with each other when they are given the choice. But the instructors always pair Victor and Jasper up. A long range weapon, like Jett's knives, and a hand-to-hand one, like Victor's swords, don't usually make for a fantastic battle.

In the other beds are Gloss, Mercury, Flint and Luxor. Gloss, Mercury and Luxor are like lesser versions of Jasper. Victor has come to know them as classic District 1 boys. Unfortunately, it seems to be the normal thing to do here is to exert arrogance and idiocy. Well, Victor has since refused to give in to that. He's above that, and he knows it. Flint Colvin, it seems, is above it as well. If Victor thinks for a long time, he can remember Flint's first two years at the center with him. He was loud, but not like Jasper. He simply always had something to say. He would laugh and smile, not smirk and tease like the others. If they did manage to say something funny, though, he was the first to grin. But he lost his older sister to something called "meningitis" when he was 10 and she was 16. He had adored that girl and followed her like a puppy everywhere she went, even more so then Victor to Ruby when he was that age. The doctor in District 1 had said it was "just the flu" and refused to give her further treatment. But the next day she couldn't move her neck, and the next she was dead. Everyone in the mining side of town had believed it was because Flint's family was diamond miners, and the doctor just didn't give them as much priority. Besides, he could have easily prescribed some sort of fancy Capital medicine, but it would have taken years for Flint's dad to pay him back, so he just didn't. That night, Victor remembers, there was a strike. The miners marched around the doctor's and demanded better treatment. Twelve were killed by Peacekeepers. Including Flint's father. Flint has been silent ever since.

Victor leaves the dull gray colors and metal beds, and goes into the dull, gray hallway. He has always found it somewhat strange that in a place like his district, so colorful and luxurious, that somewhere like this could even exist. But, then again, it makes sense. Because at least 1 child in every year isn't going to come back. He shuffles down the hallway, wearing the same training clothes he has been wearing for the past 7 years. 7 years, he thinks. Is that really how long he's been here? Victor wanders into the cafeteria, where at a table, Champagne Lucian and Virdinia Hart, 2 other girls in his year, are already awake and having a conversation over their oatmeal. As Victor grabs a bowl, Champagne waves him over. "Hey, victor, you can sit here if you'd like. It wouldn't be right if you just sat alone." She gives him one of her dazzling smiles, a classic District 1 blond beauty. Virdinia, who Victor thinks could be pretty, but always, has her air back in an unflattering ponytail, nods in her agreement. Victor doesn't want to appear hostile and rude, like so many boys here are, so he sits down. Besides, he's been working on making himself more likeable for Sponsor Strategy.

As soon as he sits, Champagne and Virdinia begin their conversation again. "A forest would be better."Virdinia begins. "That way we could conceal ourselves in the trees when we go hunting. Element of surprise, you know?" She directs that last part at Victor.

"Ummm hmm." He mumbles, face full of oatmeal. Victor doesn't mind Champagne and Virdinia. Though Champagne gives off the appearance of a typical shallow girl, she is in fact quite the opposite. Virdinia is simply a genius when it comes to strategy. Both girls were friends with Pearl. Now Champagne is saying something about how she wants some place open, so the Games will end more quickly. Although Virdinia seems to have put a lot of thought into it, and her arena does seem more…practical, Victor agrees with Champagne. He would want his Games to end as quickly as possible. But fearing they will ask for his opinion again, he quickly moves to throw the empty bowl of oatmeal away.

The Center is open, as always. And as always, Victor heads straight towards the swords. There are only a few more people. The two 18 year olds are here. They "postponed" their time in the arena another year for practice, so this is their last shot. Actually, they will be competing for a spot in the Games against the 17 year olds, who are also here. Victor knows them well enough to know that the 17 year old, one who possesses extreme arrogance may very well volunteer. So he is here getting last minute training in as well. But there is someone slightly out place other than Victor. Her name is Cornelia Beryl. And she's lethal. Victor watches as she swings her spiked whip in a series of complicated motions. Her face is lit up in a determined grin. As he watches her, Victor is glad that she isn't the one he's going to be sent with. Because it's common knowledge that, though a born killer, Cornelia is unstable. And that doesn't make for a good strategy, or, quite frankly, a good show. Because that's all they want, really. A good show. Just as Victor lays his hand on the hilt of a sword, the doors burst open. Everyone in the Center turns around to see what it might be. A little girl. Tiny, really. Amandine. Wait, Amandine? Victor lets out a sigh of exasperation. Stupid girl! What does she think she's doing here? Amandine is 10, too young to even have a real weapon. But she walks over to the target range right next to Victor. She picks up some sort of fake bow, along with rubber tipped arrows. While getting the arrows ready, or whatever it is archers do, she smiles at Victor. "I got up early, so I can make sure I don't get eliminated. We can train together!" She grins that stupid grin of hers at him. Why is the kid always so happy?

A sharp, cold laugh fills the room. Cornelia is bending over in laughter, still holding her whip. "That's so cute!" She smirks sarcastically. Victor clutches his sword with white knuckles and a red face. But Amandine just frowns, shaking her head slowly at Cornelia as if Cornelia was a tiny child who just said something bad. She lifts her bow. Victor finds, despite himself, that he is watching. Amandine pulls the arrow back._ Swoosh._ It flies across the room, landing, with a thud that echoes through the room, right in the middle of the target. Victor hears the 18 year old boy let out a whistle. Suddenly, his face is no longer red. That's his sister. His sister, who just shot a bull's-eye from God-knows how many yards. And his sister, who has likely done the same thing many times before. It's just that Victor has never noticed. And so, in that moment, he vows never to underestimate others again. He will begin to notice others. Especially his sister. Victor walks slowly over to her, where Amandine is stringing another arrow. His footsteps echo throughout the gigantic, nearly empty room. One hand finds itself on Mandi's shoulder. "You won't get eliminated, Mandi. Don't you worry about it."

And she doesn't get eliminated. And neither does Victor.


	17. Realize

**Today is Victor's Birthday…**

"Hey, Victor, I was thinking of volunteering this year." The words shock Victor so much he looks away from machine he was using to time his sprints. Jasper. What? How is that possible? Jasper, like Victor, is only 16! How can he possibly volunteer? As an answer, Jasper grins a strange, sort of lopsided smirk. "I figure it's now or never, you know?" He shrugs at Victor as though they've been friends forever and this is the most casual thing in the world. Not a Game to the death, which he is entering at a too young age, and talking to an enemy he, has had for more than 7 years. Victor stares at him. Is this some kind of sick joke? No matter the fact that Victor has always hated him. He's gonna die out there! But Jasper just grins again. "You don't know why I'm telling you this, do you?" Victor can't think of any other response other than to shake his head. "I just don't want to risk my chances of being eliminated. I'll try to volunteer right away, but if someone beets me to it, it's not the end of the world. There's next year and the year after. Look, I just want to say that I'm sorry for all the times I teased you when we were kids." And with that, he walks off. Where, Victor doesn't know. But the point is; he's gone.

"Amandine Sybil!" Victor feels the corner of his mouth turn up as he sees his sister walk onto the stage.

"Archery." She announces proudly. Of course. She has scored countless other bull's-eyes since the one last year. Now, she scores at least a few daily. It's beyond Victor how she can excel so much at something he was always so awful at. But yeah, he's proud. He remembers his time on that stage. And how sad he was that his family never seemed to notice. But he will congratulate Mandi. He gives himself a mental note not to forget. Then it hits him. Today Amandine will watch her first Games. Will she cry like Pearl did, so many years ago? As Victor tries to remember this day, the 13 year olds are called up. He looks up to find Emory on the stage. But the boy who is always smirking at the rest of the kids, like he knows something they don't, isn't there. Victor snaps his head around, looking everywhere in the sea of children. Suddenly, a large group of 14 year olds parts in some sort of circle around one boy. Emory. And he is mad.

"There must be some mistake!" I was called, I know it!" He shrieks.

Shimmer Angora looks over the podium with a mildly amused expression on her face. Yes, she has seen this before. And, even more to her amusement, a man who must be Emory's father, comes into the crowd and grabs his shrieking son's arm. And that is the last anyone at th4e Center sees of Mercury and Ivory Gleam, and their two children. A family of disappointment. So close, but yet so far. But Victor, who's only goal now is to achieve glory, is pleased. No one in the family will outshine him. Victor wants that honor and he will be willing to do anything to get it. And before he knows, it is time for the 16 year olds to get called. It is his time.

"Jasper Pinot"

"Champagne Lucian"

"Victor Sybil"

"Flint Colvin"

"Virdinia Hart"

That's it. It's just 5 names. But Victor's is one of them! He resists the urge to shout for joy on the way back to the house. Amandine, it seems has no such control. She is running ahead, laughing and tugging at Victor's hand. "I did it! I didn't think I'd do it, but I got in!" She laughs. But it's cut short. Their father's words cut through the air, sharp and cold, just like him.

"Of course you were going to get in Amandine. Don't say such things." He commands. From any other person, this would be a compliment. But their father does not praise. Even spoiled Amethyst, locked into her mother's hand, even though at 8 years old she really is too old in Victor's mind, can sense the tension. She whimpers and buries his head into her mother's skirt. Victor resists the urge to roll his eyes. Amandine never whimpered. Even Victor's cousin Glimmer, who is the same age as Amethyst, has never cried when she fell on the obstacle course at training. But his father continues on, as if nothing is happening. "You will continue this archery until you win the Games, you understand?" His father practically spits out the word "archery" and Victor knows why. In the Career districts, archery is considered a very weak weapon. Unlike swords or knives, if you miss by a fraction of an inch, it's no longer lethal, and in fact, barely slows someone down. Honestly, one arrow in your shoulder blade, quickly removed, never killed anyone. Besides, it doesn't make for a good battle scene and Careers are all about the show. So, archery has a bit of a bad rep. But if it can get someone home, then what must be done must be done.

Once home, victor throws on his Reaping clothes. It doesn't matter what he's wearing, but his mother would be angry if he wore anything less than his best. He still has a little bit of time left before he has to head to the Square, so he wanders aimlessly around the house. He's surprised how so many things have changed. In fact, he can barely remember the way to his sister's room. Her room is much the same as his. This, in District 1, is fairly odd. But Amandine is a Career girl and Career girls aren't supposed to be raised all frills and bows, though some mothers break the rules. She has the same wooden bed, the same simple wooden furniture, and even the same dull blue-gray color. The bright yellow, lacy dress she is zipping up is a sharp contrast. Although she is too young to go to the Square, one girl in her group has to go to say goodbye to her volunteering brother, so they have postponed the "Games watching" for a few hours. Of course, that girl likely doesn't know that her brother, 18 years old, may not be going at all. But this postponing allowed Mandi to come home. And since she is home, training clothes aren't allowed. Mandi looks at Victor's face, then at her dress, making a gagging noise. Victor smiles and nods his sympathies before wandering some more. He can't even remember what these rooms are. The door to one is opened a crack. Victor peers in. Lavender walls surround a gigantic bed with some kind of pink canopy draped over it. Elegant white and gold furniture fills the room, and a mirror is at every corner. Toys litter the floor, even a life-size pony toy. In the middle, Amethyst sits in a frilly purple dress, combing a doll's hair. She snaps her head up.

"Hey you aren't supposed to be here! I don't even know you!" She exclaims. The absurdity of the statement almost makes Victor laugh.

"I'm you brother." He articulates slowly.

"Nuh-uh, brothers live with you and you are never here."

With that, she slams the door in his face. And Victor lets her. Because she was absolutely right. It's time to go to the Square by now, so shouting his goodbyes to no one in particular, he takes off. Once again, children fill the streets, laughing and calling to each other. They are betting on whether those two 18 year olds will make it out. But Victor knows something they don't. He's not going to tell anyone though, even if Flint has just given him a small wave. No, they'll find out soon enough. While waiting in that hot, stuffy Square, Victor feels his mind wander. What would it be like if the Reaping was filmed, not in the colorful Main Square, but in the gray Square with the chipped and dirty fountain in the miner's section? But he pushes the thought to the back of his head. Well, that wouldn't look like District 1 at all! His attention goes to the stage as some 14 year old boy is picked. For a moment, the boy looks around with a bewildered expression on his face. "I volunteer!" The shout rings in the still air. Jasper has kept his word. When the escort calls for applause, it thunders out, just like usual. But everyone knows that something is wrong. Victor just wants to get out of there as soon as possible.

For some reason, he finds himself back at the training. Maybe his mind is trying to tell him that this is home. He wanders into the gym, now completely empty. A few more hours will go by before the Reaping Ball begins, so he has some time to himself before the crowds pour in. And now, also strangely, instead of simply grabbing a sword or some knives, he goes into the Viewing Room. His Games are drawing closer and it seems wise right now to watch a few tapes. So he hits the "play" button on one of the screens and loses himself in the 39th Games. And then the 40th. And then the 41st. And soon, he cannot stop watching. There is a "scene selection" on each, so they play out like a movie. At first, Victor only watches the Games section, usually just the bloodbath, any scene that mentions Careers, or the final battle. But sometime around the 43rd, he decides that he wants to learn more about the other districts, his competition. And he is shocked with what the screen shows.

Gone are the laughs, bets and cheers of his district. There are dreary faces matched by even more dreary landscapes. And no one besides 1, 2 and 4 volunteers, Instead, the first child, whose name Victor always thought was symbolic, is chosen. They are often 12 years old. No training and skin and bones. This is what replays again and again. The cameras show wailing mothers, fathers collapsed on the ground sobbing, and little brothers and sisters screaming. And then the deaths. So many small children, attacked by _things, _not even other tributes. A girl no more than 14 is stalked for nearly the whole 46th Games by a pack of wolves, until finally she gives up. Two boys are stranded in a raft in the middle of a lake, where small fish leap up and tear chunk after chunk out of their skin while the boys scream and scream. And then there is silence. A girl is impaled by a flock of bird's beaks while her lover looks at her, helpless. But most hauntingly, in a desert, a tiny 12 year old walked up to a snake. And offered it her arm. "I'm dead already," she told it.

Victor begins to shake. He never knew people actually shook. He slowly removes the tape and pulls himself to a standing position. So this is what he is up against. For years, instructors have told him that each and every one of these kids is an enemy. And yes, some of them are. Some will want to steal his glory. But there are some who know they won't get out. Some who, it seems, are dead already. As Victor makes his way out of the gymnasium, he makes a vow to himself. These kids will be left alone, at least by him. Because he knows that everyone deserves to die with at least some dignity. But yes, they will die. All except for Victor. That is his plan, as it always has been. He made a promise. It was made years ago, to someone so young who would never grow to be old. But it was a promise. And he intends on keeping it. As he walks out of the Center's doors, he sees a flyer. It's in the same place it has always been, year after year. The new flyer for this year's ball flutters in the breeze. But Victor pays it no mind.

He has stopped dancing a long time ago.


	18. Last

**Today is Victor's Birthday…**

He is 17 now. It's been 15 years since he saw his first Games, and 5 years since he's began to really analyze them. 13 years have gone by since the time he first played with a sword, and 7 years have passed since he handled a real one. He has laughed, cried, made promises and fallen in love. But his laughs have long since filled a room with joy. They are sharp and cold. His crying has been silent. Victor can't remember the last time he really cried. The love he once had is long gone. Her name has faded, both in the words of others, and in Victor's mind. Maybe a whisper here, or a memory there, but there will come a day when it disappears forever. Perhaps the one thing that has remained the same all these years is his promise. He is still going to win. For her. And as these years passed, Victor has waited for this day. It's one that will determine his whole future. Because today is the day when he finds out whether he has been chosen to volunteer.

The space is filled with the shouts of children, but Victor can't hear a thing. His palms are sweaty and shaking. _He's not nervous. _He tries to tell himself this over and over again. But it doesn't seem to be working. He is beyond nervous. Because the consequences of this could be severe. Victor could rob his family of their honor. What will his father do? But Victor makes sure to stand tall. He's made it this far, no small feat. It will be over soon. After Amandine, now 12, is called up to the stage, he turns to watch the others around him. Jett's fingers are drumming at his sides madly. Champagne reached down to the side of the pants, feely blindly for something that isn't there. Victor knows what it is. She is trying to feel for her knife. Though no one knows, weapons offer a sense of security for Careers, a security they never had at home. But there is no security here.

"And now to announce our young man and woman who have been selected carefully to volunteer for this or next year's Games!"

The voice rings out through the auditorium. It is silent as everyone sits on the edges of their chairs in suspense. Some have their hands frozen, ready to burst into applause at any moment.

"Champagne Lucian and Victor Sybil!"

The applause is thunderous. Victor can't help it when both sides of his mouth turn up. He walks up the stairs behind Champagne and shakes Mrs. Angora's hand. Out in the sea of parents, he catches his father nod at him. That's it. No clapping or shouts of praise. But it is enough. Besides, amandine is jumping up and down and hollering at the top of her lungs next to him. And at this, Victor doesn't just sort of lift up the corners of his mouth. He actually grins. Amandine has that effect on him. She runs toward him as soon as he exits the stage. "My brother is a victor!" She shouts to no one in particular. Victor pats her on the shoulder. His father turns to him.

"So I suppose next year you will head to the Games?" He asks in what he thinks is a rhetorical question. But Victor has other ideas.

"No, I have to go this year. Champagne is just too good with those knives. They're long range, so she could easily attack from a distance, when my back is turned. Plus, she is excellent at planning. That 18 year old girl fights hand-to-hand with daggers, which at least isn't long range. And she's not nearly as intelligent. No, I have no choice but to go this year."

It makes sense because Victor has been planning this for quite some time. But his father doesn't seem convinced. Victor is about to say something else to desperately try to get the man to agree with him for once, but then he stops himself. Why does he need his opinion? No, Victor is 17 now. He can take care of himself. He is going to these Games. And nothing can stop him. Victor is no longer in his father's control. And he knows it.

At the house, Victor's mother fusses over him like he's 3 years old again. Was that fight really 14 years ago, she wonders? Victor tries to tell her that no one shows up to the Reaping in a suit and tie, but she tells him that he has to look his best. The whole country is watching, including the President! Victor finally gets her to change her mind after insisting that it will make him look weak, and therefore not getting him sponsors. So they both settle on his best dress pants, most ironed dress shirt, and his most expensive pair of shoes. His mother places an expensive gold watch on his wrist.

"For your district token," she says.

"No, I have something else." Victor runs out of the room before Crystal can even ask a question as to what could possibly be better than the watch. Victor runs up a flight of stairs into the storage section of their attic. Here it is, rested on top of a falling-apart chest of drawers covered in dust. The same spot Victor put it years ago.

_Three days after Victor found out about Pearl's death, a man showed up at his bedroom in the Center. The man was Pearl's father and he had been given permission to come and give something to Victor. The man said Pearl had meant to put it in the family's mail slot on the day she died. It was a letter._

_Dear Victor,_

_This is going to be very hard for me to do, but I will try anyway. The events two nights ago are hard for me to think about. But you and I both know that you never really meant those things. After such a night, how could you have? Do you remember you we ran out together in the little garden outside the gym when we felt we couldn't dance anymore? Do you remember how even though it was raining; we had never had such a good time together? The stars were so bright. I felt so small, but then you had your arm around my shoulder and suddenly I felt like anything was possible! You might not even remember doing that, but it meant so much to me. And before your father saw us, that was the most amazing moment of my life. So thank you for that. And I hope one day you will be able to stand up to that man. For now though, I just really want you to say you're sorry. It wouldn't take long, and it would be really important to me. I know you can do it. It's just two words. But until then, I miss you and I miss "us." There's one more thing Victor. I love you._

_Love, Pearl_

Victor stares at the letter in his hands. And suddenly, he sees a drop of water on the paper. He is crying.

"I'm sorry, Pearl." He whispers. Then the whispers slowly turn to shouts.

"I'm sorry Pearl, please forgive me! I'm so, so sorry!" He weeps. And then, just as suddenly as he starts, he stops.

Victor folds the paper once, then again, and then shoves it into his pants pocket. He runs down two flights of stairs to get to the bottom floor of his house. Once he is downstairs, he doesn't know what to do. Should he be watching tapes to get some last minute strategy done? No, there are only 20 minutes before he has to go. He is leaving a little earlier to talk to his mentor. Then he feels a tap on his shoulder. Amandine stands behind him wearing a beautiful dress, reaching all the way to her ankles. Not exactly Reaping clothes. "Mandi what are you wearing?" He manages to get out. She swishes her dress.

"I just figured that, since you aren't going to the Center anymore, you won't be able to go to the Reaping Ball and I won't be able to go with you, so I just thought I would…Umm…maybe just dance with you for a second." Her face flushes. "Just for a second, I mean there's a chance…" Her voice trails off. But she is shocked to find that Victor is already ahead of her. He is flipping some switched that control the sound system in the room. Suddenly, the exact same song he and Pearl danced to starts to play. Victor slowly places one hand on Amandine's waist, and gently moves her hand to his shoulder.

"Okay, Mandi just keep your hand right there, and sway back and forth and pretend you know what you're doing."

She laughs. "Okay."

"And most importantly," he whispers, "just relax."

And so they stay like this. Amandine buries her head in his chest. And Victor is surprised at how perfectly it fits there. He likes it. One step to the side, another to the other. Amandine smiles up at him and he gives her a soft smile back. The kind of smile he hasn't had in years. Then, the song ends as he is still smiling. Victor slowly removes his arm and heads toward the door, but turns back and offers his sister one last smile.

"I love you, Amandine."

And then, Victor is gone.


	19. Epilogue

**Today is Victor's Birthday…**

A girl, maybe 16, walks up the grand staircase, her long blond hair swishing with each step. No one would notice, but the staircase that was once the centerpiece of the gorgeous home is chipped in several places. The elegant, curving wooden banister is covered in dust. The girl moves her hand off it in disgust, wondering why they don't take better care of the place. She looks like the type of girl to whom such small things would matter. Her hair is immaculate, falling in a single sheet and her teeth are perfectly straight and white. Even though she is in Training clothes, not a wrinkle or stain is in sight. She hates this place. It's dark and gloomy. The blinds are always drawn shut and the lights are never on. All the doors are always closed. Like the staircase, every room is covered in dust. She wonders the upstairs hall aimlessly, wondering vaguely what it once held. She knew it was once filled with laughter. Two little girls once ran down this hallway, wearing frilly dresses and chasing each other. Maybe that door right there was pulled open and a parent stood with their arms crossed in annoyance. Though the girl doesn't know it, she smiles a little bit. It just seems so nice. So warm and happy. Something this place hasn't been in too long of a time.

One of those little girls went on to obtain fame and fortune. She became a killer, one of the worst the Games had ever seen. Once, in a fit of blind rage she attacked her little sister with a kitchen knife, thinking she was being ambushed by a tribute. No, no one would ever be able to picture her as the girl who once giggled and wore satin ribbons in her hair. The other little girl was never the same after her sister was taken to an institute. The man, both girls' father turned to alcohol. Their mother spends all day in her room with the shades drawn. Hearing the hushed voices downstairs, the girl becomes annoyed. Everything is hushed in this place. She wants to retreat even further up, away from the whispers. Away from the shame she feels. Those girls were her cousins. The girl's name is Glimmer.

Glimmer finds a wooden staircase at the end of the hallway. It must lead to the attic. Good. The further up, the better. She scales the steps so quickly she ends up breathless. Even though she wouldn't admit it, she is excited to see what the attic holds. Once at the top, she runs her fingers along all the chests and boxes. Each one has a thick layer of dust over it. Light from the skylight on the roof plays in the corners, bouncing off cobwebs. The wooden floorboards creak. Glimmer knows that the place is obviously falling apart, but some part of her can't help but find it intriguing. She kneels down next to a cardboard box and lifts the lid. She holds in a gasp. There, folded so neatly, is a shimmering dress, maybe for a 12 or 13 year old. Who wore that dress? Could it have been Amandine, or maybe Amethyst? Could it even have been Crystal? She folds the dress back, but stops herself. Because there, underneath the dress, is a pile of pictures. Glimmer's curiosity overwhelms her, and she gingerly takes one from the top.

In it, two young children are smiling up at the camera. A little girl in a pink dress with hair tied in two curly pigtails holds the hand of another small child. The boy is too old to be a baby, but likely too young to do much other than toddle around, maybe he's 2 or 3. They both look like they're giggling madly. Glimmer turns it around, surprised to find writing. _Ruby, age 7 with Victor, age 2. _Ruby. Glimmer knows that she has some sort of relative named Ruby. Not a cousin exactly, but they're related somehow. Anyway, Ruby is much older than Glimmer, in her mid-twenties at least and as they weren't exactly family, they didn't see each other much. Still, she can remember Ruby coming over, but spending most of the time talking to her parents. But Glimmer has no idea who Victor is. Oh, she knows! She had to have heard that name somewhere. When she was smaller, she heard her parents whispering that. Were they talking about her future in the Games? Or could they have been talking about an actual person, someone who once giggled with a girl named Ruby? For some reason, Glimmer keeps flipping through the photos. She is frustrated because she knows the name. She just can't place how. But the pictures are no help. There is just one after another of the same girl with platinum blond curly hair, who must be Amethyst. Glimmer knows she was spoiled. When Amethyst was very young, there are some pictures of her with a brown haired, brown eyed skinny, mousy looking little girl. That's Amandine. In one picture at the bottom though, Amandine seems to have changed. In her younger pictures, she looks unhappy. But in this one, she is laughing. And she is with a boy who looks like a teenager. He is handsome, with a muscular build and brilliant blue eyes. The boy has a smile on his lips, but it's faint. One arm is around Amandine. On the back it reads _Amandine, 10 and Victor, 15._

There is that name again. From the picture, he and Amandine must have been very close. But how did they know each other? And then Glimmer sees it. It's pressed in some sort of plastic sheet, like someone wanted to clean it. But that just makes it look cold and strange. It's a piece of paper. A letter.

_Dear Victor,_

Glimmer reads the whole thing. It's a love letter. This Victor said something he shouldn't have and someone wanted him to apologize. But this girl told him that she loved him no matter what. Glimmer can't help but think that it's sweet. It's singed by "Pearl." Who is she? And why has her strange Aunt kept this? Who put this note in the plastic? Glimmer stares at her hands. She doesn't know their story. Maybe no one really does. She tells herself to ask, but as the months go by, she forgets. And yes, two years later, their story will die with her. Today is Victor's Birthday.

He has already been

forgotten.


End file.
